


Second Composer

by TNckitty



Series: Second Composer [1]
Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Childhood Friend, F/M, Romance, but have some of the game elements as well, follows mostly the anime, haruka doesn't have to deal with the bullshit alone, long lost friendship, two composers, warning: blood and panic attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 23,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24478018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TNckitty/pseuds/TNckitty
Summary: Nanami Haruka’s journey is something we all know about. How she helps each and every single one of the brightest boys to become better idols and basically create the group, Starish.But what if it was too much for her to handle? What if she cannot handle having to deal with the group all by herself? What if a second composer helps Haruka to get these boys together?Follow Kokoro Teresa’s side of the story to creating the group. But will she be able to help these shining boys when she needs the help the most? Will she be able to conquer her own problems as well as others’? And will she be able to mend a long, lost friendship with the boy who can’t remember her?
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Second Composer [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074224
Comments: 23
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Standing in front of the snowed-covered building, I can feel my heart beating quickly. I know that it isn’t from running as I walked here. It isn’t because of the nervousness from being surrounded by so many people. It is most definitely from the anxiety and nervousness from the upcoming entrance exam.

Today is the day where I either make it or break it. The day that determines whether I’ll reach my goal or not. The day that will get me a step closer or a step back from my dream.

To be honest, I would not even dream of coming here. Coming here to fulfill my dream and my promise. Coming here at the most prestigious school for performing arts in Japan.

**Saotome Academy.**

I can feel the nerves kicking in fulltime as the thought of even stepping foot in such a place scares me. Makes me freeze in my spot. Even if it is winter, I feel sweat dripping down my face. My hands feel clammy and my feet numb. My heart is beating so hard that I thought that it’ll break out of my chest. I want to go back. Go back home and never come back.

NO! I can’t do that. I can’t turn back now after making it this far. After having the courage to stand in front of Saotome Academy and to take their entrance exam that could get me closer to my dream. To fulfill my promise to a long, lost friend and stand next by them. I can’t turn back now. There is no turning back and walking away.

However, I can only feel my stomach sinking the longer I stand here. No matter how hard I try to convince myself, I can’t force myself to move. If only Aka was here with me-

No. I have to do this alone. I can’t rely on Aka all the time. I just need to suck it up and go.

With some more mental prep talk, I take a deep breath and walk towards the gate that stands between me and my dream. Maybe I’ll feel less nervous if I pass through the gate. Plus, there are other people taking the entrance exam like me, so I’m not really alone.

I am relief to know that I do feel less nervous when I step inside. I let out a shaky breath that I didn’t know I was holding. With newfound determination, I make my way to where the exam will be taking place. But before I even take step, I hear a commotion behind me. I turn around and see a pretty girl being stop by two security guards blocking her from entering.

The girl looks almost out of place with her short, reddish-orange hair and big, golden eyes. And although her white winter jacket and light blue scarf seem normal, something about her draws me in. I think it is the air around her that makes me feel calm. Almost tranquil.

“Please!” the girl shouts. “Please… I really want to take the entrance exam!”

My heart almost breaks by her desperate cries. But I was confused why she was shouting, there is still ti-

I almost have a heart attack when I glance at my black watch on my left wrist. It was a few minutes after the time that those who are participating in the exam were to arrive. My breath quickens, but I force myself to calm down before I could go in full panic mode.

To think that I almost miss my chance if I stand even a second late. Just like that girl over there.

Turning my attention back on her, I see the girl fall to the ground. I feel bad for her. She is so desperate to take the exam that I want to help her. But I am not confident enough to step in.

What if I get us both kicked out? What if I lose my chance on taking the exam? What if I banned us from ever coming back? What if-

My mind stops spiraling when I saw someone else step in.

From my point of view, I see a boy with red hair holding an umbrella over the girl. I couldn’t see his face as he has is back facing me, but I can tell that he is a kind person who is willing to help others in needed. He has proven my point when the boy holds out his hand and pulls the girl up. When he turns around to face the guards, I can see his bright, red eyes. They remind me of a certain person.

Just like the girl, his aura is something that wants to pull me in. But unlike the girl, he makes me feel happy, like everything will be alright. And I guess that helps me relaxed a little.

To know that the girl is in good hands, I turn away from the scene and make my way to my destination. I do feel bad. Hoping for someone else to step in and help instead of me. But I feel like I wouldn’t do any good in helping. So, I guess it is for the best that someone else stepped in.

I feel guilty, though, for leaving like that. I could have done something to help instead standing there like an idiot. Maybe I should go back.

No, I’ll just look stupid if I go back. Plus, I should be focusing on the exam. If I don’t pass this, I’ll have to give up on my dream. And there is no way I am giving that up.

I steel myself, gathering all the confidence in me, and make my way to my entrance exam. I ignore everything that will be hindering me and let the ones that didn’t come forward. I even mentally pray to whatever god is willing to grant my prayers.

This is my only chance to do this. My only change to make something of myself.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teresa gets to meet Haruka and Tomochika properly.

It has been a few months later. Winter turns into spring. Snow has been replaced by cherry blossom.

Again, I stand in front of the school. But this time, I am already inside the gate in my new Saotome uniform. I watch other students walking around or hanging out by the trees.

The wind gently blows the pretty pink petals everywhere. The scene makes it look like a dream, but it is not. This is not a dream. This is reality and I am in it.

I was scared that all of this was a dream. That this is all fake and my mind is playing a prank on me. But when Aka hands me the letter, I knew it is not fake. I knew this is all real. I knew that I am getting closer to my goal.

I feel so giddy. To think that I am here again as a student of Saotome Academy is unbelievable. I was sure that I fail. And not only did I pass, I somehow manage to get myself in the S class. S class is the highest class in Saotome Academy. It means that the students with the highest score are in this class.

Aka’s face when they saw that I pass is the best thing I ever seen in a long time. The happy and proud look they gave me strengthen the determination that I have before. Sure, I still feel like I don’t deserve to be in S class, but I know that from here on out, I will have to work hard. Work hard and reach my dream. I did make a promise and I will not let anything stop me now.

I make my way to the courtyard. I can feel myself skipping in happiness. I haven’t felt this good in a long time. I almost giggle out loud from how happy I am to be here. Although the school is big, it isn’t hard to find the courtyard as it is so big, it is hard not to miss it. I can already see a lot of students gather there and sitting in the seats.

Seeing how many people there are, it almost washes the happy feeling away. Nerves starts to come back, but I shake my head. I can’t let a crowd like this bother me. I know I have to get use to it, so I might as well start now.

I look around the courtyard, trying to find a place to sit, when I accidently run into someone. I manage to keep my balance, but that cannot be said to the person I ran into. I hear a yelp below me as push my glasses up.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going.” A female voice warned me.

I quickly apologize. I look towards the ground and see the same girl from the entrance exam there. Both relief and guilt make their way to my heart when I see her. If she is here, then that can only mean that she got to take the exam and passed. I am happy to see that she got the chance to be here.

I hold my hand out to the girl on the ground. The girl automatically grabs it, and I pull her up. I know I’m not the strong person, but she is too light even for me.

“I’m sorry for running into you like that.” I said. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

I feel my face heating up, now realizing how embarrassing that was of me.

“That is okay.” The girl said as she brushes the dirt off her skirt.

Although I am not a major fan of these uniforms, somehow the girl looks really cute in them. I think it is because I don’t look good in these. I do prefer darker colors, but I can’t just wear what I want in here.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” I asked.

“I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.” She answered.

“Seriously,” the same voice from earlier began, “You need to watch where you are going. Someone could have gotten hurt.”

I turn to where the voice was, and I almost lost my breath.

A girl with long red hair looks at me with anger in her beautiful pink eyes. I seen a lot of beautiful girls before, but she is so gorgeous that I almost thought that she was a goddess. The way her make-up looks on her also help enhance her beauty.

I have to shake myself out of her bewitching spell.

“I’m sorry. I’ll look where I’m going next time.” I said.

I bow down to make sure that they get the message. My face is probably red from the embarrassment.

“Tomo-chan. It’s okay. She didn’t mean to run into me.” The girl said to her friend, who is apparently Tomo-chan.

Tomo-chan sighs and goes to look over the girl just to make sure she was truly okay.

“I know, but I’m worry that you got hurt.” Tomo-chan explained.

“Why don’t we all start over?” The girl suggested. “Hello. I am Nanami Haruka.”

Haruka bows as she greets me. I relax. The way she acted and talked makes me feel at peace.

“My name is Kokoro Teresa. It’s nice to meet you.” I introduced myself.

I bow as well.

“Shibuya Tomochika.” Tomochika said.

Now that I wasn’t being scolded by her, Tomochika smiles at me and holds a hand out to me. I smile back and shake her hand. Although I didn’t feel it earlier, I feel the air around Tomochika is very happy. Almost the same as the boy that helped Haruka at the entrance exam but different somehow.

“So, what are you going into? Idol or composer?” Tomochika asked.

“Composer.” I answered.

“Really? I am too.” Haruka excitedly said.

“That means we can help each other.”

“That’s great, Haruka.” Tomochika excited said as well. “I am going to be an idol.”

“I can see that. You are so beautiful that I am surprised that you aren’t already.” I blurted out.

For what felt like the tenth time today, I feel my face heating up. Tomochika laughs when she heard that. Haruka nods her head in agreement. And then suddenly, Tomochika wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a hug. I complete freeze.

“You are so cute.” Tomochika squeals in happiness, unaware how tense I am.

I don’t like people who I bearly know touching me, but I don’t want to be rude by pushing Tomochika away. So, I let her hug me. Luckily for me, she quickly lets go. Now that I wasn’t being hug, I process what Tomochika said and my face and ears are completely gone red.

Tomochika and Haruka look at my face and laugh. I laugh as well as their laugh is contagious.

It has only been the first day, but I have a feeling that this year is going to be a good one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't know already, I am also writing a different Utapri fic called Animal Adventure. Please go read that if you are interested in seeing the bois be animal-hybrid children.


	3. Chapter 3

I lied.

I completely lied.

This is not going to be a good year.

To be honest, I don’t remember anything from the entrance ceremony. I fainted when I saw the headmaster jump off the roof. Haruka and Tomochika have to inform a staff member to take me to the infirmary.

I always have it bad when someone jumps off a roof. I know it is specific, but a past trauma can do that to you. Luckily, I didn’t stay unconscious for long. I did, however, miss the whole ceremony. I’ll just have to ask Haruka or Tomochika what happened.

Now, I am on my way to my classroom. I have a note from the doctor just in case my teacher arrived early. It didn’t take me long to reach the room and can see that most of the students are there. I walk in and try to look for a spot to sit. Even though the doctor said that I am fine, I feel dizzy. So, I choose to sit in the middle of the room, not wanting to be the typical anime main character who sits all the way in the back of the classroom.

I really need to stop watching anime. It is ruining my life.

Once I sit down, I look around the room. I see no one I know, which is both a good and bad thing. Good thing because people don’t know me. Bad thing because there is no one for me to talk to. Before I can look behind me, I hear someone talking to me.

“Hey.” A voice called.

I wasn’t expecting anyone to come up to me, so I almost jump out of my seat. I look to the person to see who it was.

A boy with blond hair looks at me with concern. His blue eyes move up and down, trying to see something on me. What I find interesting about him is the red booby-pins and black fedora in his hair and the black fingernails. He also caught my eye by wearing a pale hoodie instead of a blazer. He is short too.

“I saw what happened earlier.” he said. “Are you okay now?”

I look at him for a minute before realizing what he meant.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I answered. “I felt dizzy, is all.”

He still looks at me like I was about to pass out again. I don’t blame him, but I don’t want him to worry about me so early in the year.

“Are you sure?”

I nod. Although it doesn’t seem like it, the movement makes me dizzy again. He reluctantly leaves the situation alone and goes to sit next to my desk.

“The name’s Kurusu Syo. I’m going to be an idol.” He introduced.

Syo smiles at me as he holds his hand out to me. This makes me smile too. I take his hand and shake it.

“Kokoro Teresa and I want to be a composer.” I greeted back.

Syo’s eyes shine in excitement. He also is bouncing up and down in his seat. It looks like a kid who is about to get ice cream. He is so cute.

“That means that we could work together.” Syo said. “And did you see who our teachers are going to be? Hyuga Ryuya is one of them.”

Syo is basically vibrating with excitement. I giggle at how cute he is.

“Are you a fan of Hyuga Ryuya?” I asked.

To be honest, I don’t even have to asked that as Syo’s face lights up.

“He is the reason I’m even here.” Syo explained. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know what I’ll being doing.”

“That’s cool.” I said. “Ryuya-san is really an inspiring person when you watch his movies, huh?”

“Totally.”

Syo then when on about Ryuya-san’s, or I should say Hyuga-sensei, recent movie and how we should go and see it. I usually not the type to watch the kind of movies Hyuga-sensei plays in, but if Syo is interested in it, I guess I can try and watch it. Who knows, I could end up liking it.

“So, why are you here?” Syo asked out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

“What is your reason for being a composer?” Syo rephrased.

“Oh.” I said. “I’m here because it is my dream.”

“Dream?”

“Yeah. To be honest, I grew up in a not so great childhood. It is because of my friend who loves music that I am here. They showed me that music can reach people’s hearts. That is what I want. I want to reach people’s hearts, so that even if they have a bad, they know that there is someone who will care about them.”

Syo stares at me to an uncomfortable minute. I squirm in my seat, wondering if I said something funny.

“Wow.” Syo finally said. “That is really inspiring. So, does this friend of yours here as well?”

“I don’t think so.” I answered, knowing full well that they already achieve their dream. “I haven’t seen them in a long time.”

Before Syo can ask what I meant, the door opens, and a tall figure steps into the room. The students scramble to their seat and quiet down. When I turn to see who our teacher was, I was not ready to see the person that Syo and I were just talking about.

Hyuga Ryuya is almost imitating in person as he is on screen. It doesn’t help that he is tall enough to loom over us. Even if he wasn’t tall, the air around him says that he is the ‘no nonsense’ type of guy. The perfect teacher to teach the S class.

“Alright, class.” His booming voice echoed around the room. “Be quiet and listen to what I have to say.”

Well, at least I know he is the type of teacher to be strict. I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing, but I wouldn’t let that stop me from being a composer. Although I am 99% nervous, the 1% gives me enough excitement to continue this road.

I will reach my dream.

No matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story.
> 
> Half of this chapter did not save on my documents. So I had to quickly write the half before posting. The unfortunate part is that I wrote this about a week ago, so I don't remember what I originally put. I don't know if this is better or not, but there is nothing i can do to recover it. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this week's chapter at least and please give this story some support. I think I need it after this little mishap.
> 
> Another announcement is that this story is going to posting every Sunday. So, look forward to it.
> 
> Anyways, I hope to see you next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: breaking the fourth wall

At this point, I don’t even know what to feel anymore. The “no love” rule is stupid in my opinion. I understand that idols are not supposed to date anyone because of the chance if their fans being upset, but to say that both composers and idols can’t love is wrong. How can you control love, anyways?

I sigh as these thoughts are getting me nowhere. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear Syo coming up to me.

“What a day.” Syo said, making me jump. “And it only lunchtime.”

“Yeah.” I agreed.

“We should go and grab something to eat.” Syo said. “I kind of skip breakfast this morning and I am hungry.”

Syo scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. I giggle as I see the red spreading across his face.

“Yeah. We better go.” I agreed.

I honestly didn’t feel too hungry, but I don’t want him to worry about it like he did earlier. I also want to see if Haruka and Tomochika are there. I get up from my seat and follow Syo out the classroom. Most of the students are already out, but there are some where they just hang out by their desks.

Even though I arrived here two days ago, I didn’t have time to go around the school and figure my way around yet. Syo chats away about random things while I listen. I did reply once and awhile, but otherwise I just listen. That seems to not bother Syo as he told me about the recent fashion that got him interested.

“Red maybe the newest fashion designer, but their designs are off the charts.” Syo said in excitement. “Their clothes are no joke.”

“Yeah. Most of my wardrobe is from their brand.” I said offhandedly.

I didn’t realize until I almost ran into Syo that he stopped. Syo looks at me like I did something incredible.

“What?”

“You have a lot of Red’s clothes?” Syo asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do you know how expensive some of those are? How rich are you?”

“Not that much.” I answered as I walk around him. “The reason I have so many is because my sister is working at the same company as the designer Red. I just get some of their clothes through my sister.”

I don’t know why I told him that. There is a chance he could just use me to get him the latest design from Red. But I know he would never take advantage of me like that. Something about him tells me that he is not that type of person.

“That’s cool.” Syo said. “Does that mean you know Red?”

Before I can answer him, I hear someone calling my name. I didn’t have time to turn around as I feel someone slam against my back and arms wrap around my shoulders. I feel my body tensing up at the sudden contact.

“Teresa! How did homeroom go?” I hear Tomochika’s voice asked.

I move my head a little to see pink hair on my shoulder. Pass the hair is Haruka running closer to us. Because she was running, she stumbles over her feet and almost falls. In her hand, a pink card flies off. In the blink of an eye, Syo catches the card before it hits the ground.

“Safe!” Syo shouts.

Syo straightens himself and hands the card back to Haruka.

“Here.”

Haruka grabs it and holds it closer to her body

“Thank you.” Haruka said.

I feel Tomochika let go of me. My body untenses and was about to asks if Haruka was okay, but I got interrupted by someone.

“Careful there, Ochibi-chan.” A smooth voice said.

“Ochibi!” Syo repeated loudly.

Our little group turns to where the voice was and see a handsome boy walking our way.

His long orange hair is pulled back behind one of his ears. The way his bangs covers the right side of his face makes him look more handsome. His eyes are quite blue, but not the same shade as Syo’s. His uniform looks to be thrown on half-heartedly. His shirt is only button two-thirds of the way up and his tie is tied loosely around his neck. The boy ditches the blazer and is left with a vest. The perfect definition of a ladies’ man.

“I had my eye on this lady first.” The boy said as he makes his way to where Syo and Haruka is.

In the back, I can see many of the girls staring at him. I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

“Ren!” Syo shouted. “My name ain’t ‘Ochibi-chan’! It’s Kurusu Syo!”

I am so glad that I didn’t mention anything about Syo’s height. It seems to be a very sore subject to him.

“Um, thank you for helping me the day of the entrance exam.” Haruka said.

Haruka bows down. I look at her in confusion. Didn’t the guy with the red hair helped her? Maybe Ren-san helped when I left. Ren-san smiles at Haruka.

“Meeting you again must be fate.” Ren-san stated.

_‘A flirt, that one is’_ is what was going through my head. And apparently someone agrees with me.

“A flirt, as always.” A voice coming from behind Syo and Haruka said.

Ren-san looks surprised when he heard the voice talking to him.

Another boy walks up. His blue hair is quite an eye-catcher. His beauty mark on his cheek makes his purple eyes brighter. He is a complete opposite of how Ren-san is dressed. Clean and proper. His blue cardigan is replacing the blazer and his tie is tied correctly.

I almost choked. I thought it was _him._ I thought _he_ came back to haunt me. To punish me for leaving _him_ without warning.

That is why I was so relief to know it wasn’t _him._ At first glance, the boy did look like _him._ But I can see the little differences that this boy and _he_ have.

I let go of a breath that I did not know I held and watch the scene before me unfolds. Ren-san stares at the blue-haired boy for a moment before walking to meet with him.

“And as always, you’re a stiff.” Ren-san fired back from the comment the boy made earlier.

Haruka moves out of the way and watches Ren-san and the boy have their ‘ _conversation_ ’. Once Ren-san completely moves pass Haruka. Tomochika hurries up to her.

“What?!” Tomochika shouted. “Lifesaver ‘ _B’_ was Jinguji Ren?!”

I guess Haruka have two saviors during the exam. Why do I get the feeling that she is the main character of a harem anime? And what am I here for? I have been completely ignored.

“Yes.” Haruka answered before I can voice my complaint. “Do you know him?”

Tomochika looks at Haruka in surprised. To be honest, I was surprised too. And judging by Syo’s reaction, he thinks so too.

Well, if she is going to be the main heroin of an anime, then I guess she must be the clueless type to her harem of boys.


	5. Chapter 5

Lunchtime is really interesting to say the least. It seems to me that Ren-san and the blue-haired boy, Hirijikawa Masato, know each other. I mean that makes sense as their families are two of the biggest Financial Groups in Japan. And not only that, but their families are rivals. That would also explain Ren-san and Masato-san’s insults for each other. I thought for sure they were going to have a fistfight or something.

With that all explained and Haruka still didn’t know. Although I am not that up to date with the media, I do know about the Jinguji and Hirijikawa Financial Groups. Haruka explains that she didn’t have a T.V. at home, so she didn’t know about them.

I know that I joke about Haruka being a heroin in a harem anime, but this is taken it too far.

“Even so…” Tomochika started, “as might be expected of a gathering of idol hopefuls, the level of the males here is off the charts!”

As Tomochika was talking, I look around the room. My eyes first land of two boys. The first one I recognize as the savoir #1 of Haruka. He is sitting with a really tall boy with blond hair.

The tall boy’s eyes glow bright green as the redhead and him were talking about something that I can’t hear. His wire-framed glasses also give him this innocent demeanor that I don’t usually find tall people to have. It’s a cute look on him.

My eyes swipe away from them and to Masato-san. Masato-san is sitting alone while eating melon pan. An interesting lunch choose for a scion, but that is cute in my opinion. My eyes did not stay on Masato-san for long. I don’t want to be reminded of _him_ any longer than I have already _._ It is painful to remember the past.

So, I force myself to look at Ren-san and Syo. The reason I didn’t sit with Syo is because I wanted to eat with Haruka and Tomochika, but there aren’t enough seats for the four of us to sit. Plus, it might look weird for one boy to sit with a group of girls. Not that I mind, but I figured that Syo would get uncomfortable being stared at.

I watch as a group of girls gather around Ren-san and Syo. Ren-san spots them and waves at them. The girl squeals. Syo looks at Ren-san in annoyance when he heard them behind him.

Having enough peoplewatching, I turn my attention back to the conversation.

“Level?” Haruka repeated, not understanding what Tomochika said.

Tomochika leans back with her arms crossed under her chest.

“It’s tough being a girl when there are so many hot princes around.” Tomochika said. “I guess you could say they’re ‘ _princes of song’_. Or something like that…”

I hum in agreement while nodding my head. Kind of a fitting titles for the boys here at Saotome Academy. The boys that I look at do have that prince feel to them. Even Syo feels like a prince and we only just met.

Haruka stares at Tomochika, still not getting it. How cute.

“Princes of song?” Haruka repeated.

“A fitting title.” I commented, finally saying something after a while.

I see Haruka and Tomochika jump in their seats a little. It seems like they forgot I was here. I don’t blame them. I don’t stand out that much unlike those two.

“Right.” Tomochika exclaimed. “By the way…”

I look at Tomochika when she turns her attention to me.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

I look down in front of me. There is an empty space where food was supposed to be. Just beyond the empty space are two trays full of food.

“Not really that hungry. I ate a big breakfast this morning.” I lied.

I never eat breakfast, even if I’m hungry.

“Really?” Haruka asked, a hint of worry shows in her voice. “Are you sure that is okay? You did faint this morning.”

Right. I forgot that happened. Man, today has been a long day and it has only been lunchtime.

“I’m fine.” I reassured. “I’ll just eat something tonight.”

“Okay.” Haruka hesitated.

My heart warms up to hear someone other than Aka be concern about my wellbeing. But also makes my heart heavy with guilt.

“So, tell me how S class is like.” Tomochika jumped in in excitement. “Who is your teacher?”

“Hyuga Ryuya.” I answered. “And he is extremely strict. I almost thought he was going to kick me out for breathing wrong.”

“That intense, huh?”

“It seems like Syo is going to enjoy it though.”

“Syo?” Haruka asked.

I look at her and then Tomochika to realize that they don’t know who Syo is.

“The boy that Ren-san teased.” I answered.

The two girls in front of me give me a look of realization on who I was talking about. Before we can chat anymore, the bell rings, indicating that lunch is about to be over. Tomochika pushes herself up and grabs her tray. Haruka and I follow suit.

“Well,” Tomochika said, “it seems like it is time to go. Why don’t we meet up after classes are over? We can hang out or something.”

“I would like that.” Haruka said.

“I’m down.” I agreed.

So, the three of us decided to meet up at the courtyard and think of something to do when we get there. We separate, with Haruka and Tomochika walking one way and me going the other way. As I was on my way to the classroom, I run into Syo and Ren-san.

“Hey, Teresa.” Syo greeted me. “Since we are going back, I thought that we can walk together.”

“Okay.” I said.

“You are quite popular, Ochibi-chan.” Ren-san said as he walks on the opposite side of Syo.

It is intimating to have two boys on either side of me, but I ignore it for the time being. Syo frowns at Ren-san by looking over my shoulder.

“I told you already! It’s not Ochibi-chan!” Syo shouted. “My name is Syo! I’m not short!”

I hold in a snort. I was taller than Syo, but I didn’t say that out loud in fear of him shouting at me. I guess I didn’t hide it that well if Ren-san commented on it.

“The little kitten agrees.” Ren-san said.

“Teresa!” Syo shouted, looking at me in betrayal.

Syo’s face is funny that I couldn’t help myself. I burst into laughter. Behind me, I hear Ren-san chuckling. Syo glares at Ren-san and me. At first, I thought he was really angry, but I see that he didn’t take any of it to heart.

It’s nice. To chat to friends like this. To laugh and tease each other.

I wish for this feeling to last long.


	6. Chapter 6

I am currently hanging out in Haruka and Tomochika’s room. Earlier after classes, I met up with them at the same courtyard that we had for the Opening Ceremony and decide to explore the school a little bit more. The school is a lot bigger than I thought it was and it takes us 2 hours to look at half the school.

Okay, I may have taken forever in the library, looking through the books that they have. Tomochika teased me and said that I should just live there instead of the dorm rooms. I went with it and said that I would love to live there. I wasn’t kidding either as I would live to be surrounded by books all day every day.

Right now, I help the two finished unpacking their things. I already finish mine’s as I didn’t have a lot of thing packed with me.

“Where should I put this?” I asked Tomochika, holding up a big bag.

“Oh. You can put that on my desk.” Tomochika said, nodding her head to the desk on the left.

I nod and put it on top of the many books that are already occupying the desk. I can see a magazine sitting on top of all the textbooks. The magazine is from the latest release of Red’s fashion.

“Oh, I didn’t know they just release a new one.” I commented, picking the magazine up.

I see a man with brown hair. The right side of his hair is sweep back and just leaves the left side as is. His golden eyes pierce through me like he is looking into my soul. He is laying on is stomach with his arm reaching out to the camera. He is shirtless and his bottom half is covered by a thin, white blanket. His muscles stand out a lot.

I feel my face burning as I quickly set the magazine down, almost slamming it.

“That’s right. I picked it up earlier when you were too busy in the library. I’m surprise that they are even selling these here.” Tomochika commented as she puts the last of her clothes in the wardrobe.

“Do you like Red’s fashion?” I asked as I move on to the next box.

“I do!” Tomochika said excitedly. “Their women’s winter collections are some of my favorite lines so far.”

“I also like their winter collection.” I said. “I also like some of their men’s collections as well.”

“Men’s?”

“I like men’s styles a lot more than women’s. I don’t know why.” I clarified.

“There are some good men’s wear I would like to wear.”

“What is Red’s fashion?” Haruka finally said after a while.

“You even don’t know what Red’s fashion is?” Tomochika asked in disbelief.

Tomochika grabs the magazine and goes to sit of Haruka’s bed. Haruka leaves her unfolded clothes at her desk and goes to sit next to Tomochika. Tomochika motions me to come sit too. I obey and go sit on the other side of her. Tomochika opens the magazine a few pages in.

On the page is a woman on it. Her long, curly, pink hair is draped over her right shoulder. Her blue eyes are looking to the side, away from the camera. Her pink dress reached just above her knee. White sandals and white bangle bracelet help bring out the dress. And to top it all off is a thick pink and white headband. She posed on a brown couch as she leans her body over the arm rest.

“Ringo-sensei?!” Haruka shouted in surprised.

“Yep. He was asked to model for Red’s fashion recently.” Tomochika said. “His popularity skyrocketed after that.”

“Whoa.” Haruka said in awe.

“Did you really not know?” I asked as I reach out to turn the page.

“No.”

I see Haruka’s cheeks redden.

“Don’t worry. We’ll just have to teach you the city life.” Tomchika said.

The pink-haired girl pats Haruka’s head. I nod as I turn the page again. Before I can study the page, I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket of my blazer. I grab my phone and see Syo’s name on the screen. Since we are both in the same class, Syo suggested that we exchange phone numbers. It made sense, so I give him my phone number. After another ring, I pick it up.

“Hello.” I greeted.

“Hey, I was wondering if you want to grab something to eat. I thought that if we get dinner early, we would avoid having too many people there.” Syo said.

I look over at Tomochika and Haruka.

“Hold on, let me ask my friends if they want to come.” I said.

I pull the phone away from my ear and cover the speaker.

“Syo asked me about dinner right now and I wonder if you guys want to come too.” I explained.

“Yeah. We can take a break right now.” Tomochika said.

Haruka nods.

“Okay.” I said.

I go back to the phone.

“Yeah. We can meet up at the cafeteria in a few minutes.”

“Cool. See you soon.” Syo said before hanging up.

I put my phone back in my pocket. I stand up and stretch.

“Come on. I am hungry.” I said.

“Me too.” Tomochika agreed as she gets up.

Haruka soon follows. The three of us walks out of the dorm room and makes our way to the cafeteria. It didn’t take us too long to reach there. Syo was right about not many people are there. I feel grateful that he thought about me and my discomfort around crowds. It is not hard to spot Syo. As we made our way closer to him, I see the tall boy from earlier sitting across from Syo. It is ridiculous of how different their height is.

“Teresa!” Syo called loudly when he sees us coming.

“Haru-chan! Tomo-chan! You’re going to eat with us too?” the tall boy asked.

“Yeah. Teresa invited us.” Tomochika said.

Tomochika takes a seat and pulls Haruka next to her, which puts Haruka between her and the tall boy. I go sit next to Syo with Haruka across from me.

“Oh. You’re Teresa. Syo told me all about you.” The tall boy said, making me blush.

“It’s not like that!” Syo shouted, also blushing.

“I’m Shinomiya Natsuki.” Natsuki-san introduced. “I am Syo’s childhood friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Natsuki-san.” I said. “I’m Kokoro Teresa.”

“Syo said that you prefer your first name.”

I nod.

“Is it alright to call you Te-chan?”

I look at him in surprise.

“I’m fine with that.” I said. “I think that is the first nickname someone ever gave me.”

“Really? I’m glad I am the first.” Natsuki-san said.

Natsuki-san smiles so brightly that I have to look away. I blush with the way he phrased that. Syo shouts at Natsuki-san about how he worded it. I giggle when I see how confuse Natsuki-san was.

It seems like I made another new friend. I am starting to like it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points for those who know who that man in the magazine is.
> 
> Hint: He is an idol.
> 
> Anyways, six chapters in and they are all from episode one. Wild. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until next time, bye.


	7. Chapter 7

It is the next day. Yesterday was such a long day that I thought I’ve been here for a month and not the first day.

I am checking myself in the mirror right now. I notice that there are quite a lot of students who modified their uniforms, so I decided to do the same.

Currently, I still have the same yellow checkered skirt with black leggings underneath and white buttoned-down shirt. The only differences I changed is the greenish-blue blazer which I replaced it with a blue zipper hoodie. I leave the hoodie unzipped. I purposefully got it in a bigger size, so the sleeves are long enough to hide my hands. I replace the red striped bow tie that the girls wear with the boy’s tie which is loosely tied. My footwear is a pair of black and white tennis shoes.

I look down at myself before looking up. I can see my reflection staring back at me. My dark brown eyes show exhaustion and loneliness. It does not help with the heavy eye bags under them. At least it is being conceal behind my black glasses. My long black hair drapes over my right shoulder even though it is pulled back into a ponytail. Strands of hair escape from the hair tie and fall on the sides of my face. If it wasn’t so obvious that I was a girl, I could passed as a boy.

A familiar face that I used to look at every day but not through the mirror. I can see my face twist into sorrow as the thought of my sister passes through my mind. I shake the thought out of my head and did a last-minute check on my clothes before heading out.

There are still 30 minutes left until class starts. So, I decide to go the library. Luckily for me, the library is near my classroom, so I can take my time there. I greet the student who was sitting behind the front desk and make my way to the back of the library. While my trip around the library yesterday, I found a perfect spot for me to read without people bothering me. My little hideaway when it gets too much for me.

The spot is right next to the fantasy sections, a genre that I like to read. There is a small table where is directly in front of the window. The window is in the perfect place where the sun shines during the afternoon and gives you the best view in my opinion. I can see the lake from here. There is a little gazebo places a little to the right of it. The trees surrounding the lake make it look like an oasis. Another spot for me to relax, although I haven’t check there yet.

I go to the shelves nearby and carefully look at the title of the books. Each book is so interesting that I don’t think I can read all of them. I have a hard time deciding which book to read. I eventually choose one and was about to grab it when something catches my eye. I turn my head to see what it is, and my breath caught in my throat.

A boy with dark hair stands in front of the shelve with a book in his hand. Because I was far away from him, I couldn’t see his face well, but I know who this is. My heart pounds quickly. My breath is fast and shallow. My mind drifts back. Back to when I was just a young girl.

The boy is replaced by a younger version of himself, and he is much closer to me. His stormy blue eyes studies me as he holds a book out to me. His cheeks still has some baby fat and it looks even more chubbier when he smiles at me. I see his mouth move, but I can’t hear what he said. He then leans towards me. I want to take a step back but couldn’t. I couldn’t move at all. I am frozen in place.

The boy in front of me shatters when I finally did move. The vision of him is completely vanished from my sight and I am back to the present. I take a deep breath, sucking in as much as air as possible. My vision is blurry even though I have my glasses on. I feel something drip down my face and realize that my cheeks are wet. I quickly scrub the tears away, but they keep coming back. I hold back a sob as I slowly back away.

Somehow, he didn’t notice me, so I take the chance to go back to my spot. I scramble to pull the chair out and collapse onto it. My tears get worse with every moment. My throat closes and my lungs are getting no air in them. I feel my body shaking as I try to hold my sob back even more.

I can’t believe he is here. The one person I don’t want here. The one person I don’t want to face.

I don’t know how long I sat there, but it was long enough for my phone to vibrate in my pocket. I brush the tears away, this time they stop. I grab my phone and see that there is 5 minutes before class starts. I get up from my seat and quickly make my way to the restroom. I slam my glasses on the counter and viciously scrub my face with water. I look at myself in the mirror to make sure that I don’t look like I was crying act all. Once I was ready, I speed-walk to the class and sit in the same desk as I sat yesterday. I see that Syo was already sitting and give him a smile. I hope that my glasses at least hide the redness of my eyes. The last thing I need right now is him worrying about me.

I let out a breath when I realize how close it was when Hyuga-sensei walks in the room. I then see Ren-san walking right behind him.

“You’re late.” Hyuga-sensei said.

“No, I’m not.” Ren-san argued. “I have a minute left.”

I look at the clock on the wall and see that Ren-san was right. Hyuga-sensei sighs and tells Ren-san to go sit down. Ren-san gives him a casual salute and goes to sit next… to me? I didn’t notice the empty seat to the right of me. I stare at him for a minute before putting my attention back to the front.

“Today, I’m going to pair you all for your first assignment. One composer and one idol for each pair. I’ll be calling out names now.” Our teacher said.

Hyuga-sensei reads through the list. I was disappointed when I heard that I wasn’t paired with Syo for our first assignment. I wait in anticipation for my name.

“Kokoro Teresa.” Hyuga-sensei called. “You are with Ichinose Tokiya.”


	8. Chapter 8

I am going to yeet myself off a roof.

The world wants to make me suffer. I just know it. What have I done that them hate me so much?

I wish the floor swallow me now. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

I can feel everyone look at me when Hyuga-sensei announced my partner. Their eyes burn into me. I hate it. I hate the attention I am getting right now. I couldn’t look up from my desk as I didn’t want to see their faces. I can feel different emotions. The boys pity me while the girls give hatred and jealously towards me.

To think I have _him_ as my partner makes me want to run out of the room and hide under my bed. The person I so desperately don’t want to face. The person who made me cry just this morning.

The world is truly cruel.

As I hear the bell ring, I scramble to get up and run out the door. I hear Syo calling out to me, but I ignore him. I didn’t have specific place to run, but I’m glad that my feet take me to my dorm room. I quickly unlock it and rush inside. I slam the door behind me and slide down it. I pull my legs towards me. I put my head on my knees and let the tears from earlier escape once again. This time I did not stop the sob. I am glad that the dorm rooms are slightly soundproof as I let out an ugly cry. I probably look awful too.

In my pocket, I feel my phone vibrating. I ignore it. It was probably Syo trying to call me and want to know where I ran off to. After the fifth ring, I calm down enough to at least talk. I grab my phone and look at who it was. I was surprise to see their name on the screen instead of Syo’s. I answer the call.

“Hello?” I greeted, not bothering to hide the exhaust in my voice.

“You okay?” a voice similar to mine’s asked.

“No.”

There is a pause on the other side.

“Is it him?” the voice said after a while.

“Yes.”

I feel my butt numbing from sitting on the hard floor, so I made the attempt to move to the bed. I flop on top of the bed and pull the covers around me, not caring if I make my clothes wrinkle at all.

“Want to talk about it?”

I say quiet. I don’t know how to begin to explain how I feel about this. I mean, I’m happy to see him and that he is well, but I don’t to face him to know that he is angry or worse hates me. I left without telling him. I left without even a goodbye. I know it wasn’t my fault and that I have no choice to move away, but I can’t help feeling guilty for not telling him.

“Teresa?” the voice called, getting my attention again.

“Sorry.” I mumbled. “I don’t know how to tell you.”

Finally realizing I was still holding my phone, I put it on speaker and set the phone next to my head.

“I guess you’ll have to start at the beginning.”

No way of getting out of this one, I told them about how the first day of classes was and the friends I made. I told them about Haruka and how I think she is a main character in a harem anime. I told them about the run in with _him_ this morning and that I was paired up with _him_.

“Shouldn’t you be happy to see him, Teresa?” the voice asked, confusion can be heard.

“I am. I really am happy to see him.” I said, letting out a huff of frustration. “But… I’m scared.”

No matter how I look at it, it is always fear that stop me. Fear of being angered. Fear of being hated. Fear of being rejected. Fear is always going to stop me for doing the things that I love.

“You’re going have to overcome that sooner or later. If you want my opinion, I say do it sooner.”

“I know. But I just can’t.”

I hear my voice cracked as I feel like crying again.

“You promise me, Teresa.” They said. “You promise that if you are going to be a composer, you are going have to do this without me.”

“I know.” I said again. “I know. But it is so hard. It is so hard to do things without you by my side, Aka. We’ve done so much together. I just don’t think I can do it.”

“Teresa.” Aka said my name firmly. “It has only been two days. You can’t give up that early. I want you to try for at least a week. Can you do that? For me?”

I think it over. They were right. It has only been two days. I can’t give up that easily. And I am already here. I need to at least try. If not for me, then for them.

“I’ll try.” I whispered, not worrying if Aka heard me or not.

“That is all I am asking.” Aka said. “And I want you to talk to him.”

“Aka-“

“You can’t delay this for much longer.” Aka cuts me off. “I hate to see you like this. I hate to see you so miserable.”

I hear Aka’s voice cracking. It breaks my heart to hear them like this. Both Aka and I have been through so much in the past, and we are both just recovering from it. So, to hear that… to hear Aka’s voice sound like that again… I don’t to go back.

“Okay.” I said softly. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you.”

I can’t see their face, but I can feel that they are smiling. I smile back, although I know they cannot see it.

“So,” Aka said, cutting the comfortable silences that was there for a minute, “are you going to tell me who these friends of yours are?”

I giggle and go on to tell them about the interesting people I have befriended over the two days I have been here.

I feel much better. Talking to Aka again. To hear their voice and talk about my life right now. It is nice. I guess I’ll have to work hard now. For Aka’s sake.


	9. Chapter 9

I didn’t return to class after the talk with Aka. I feel exhausted but am unable to talk a nap. I curse my insomnia for that. I didn’t leave my room at all until I hear a knock on my door. I yell ‘wait a minute’ through the door as I go wash my face in the bathroom. Once I scrub some of the dried tears off my face, I go and answer the door. Haruka and Tomochika are the ones standing behind the door.

“Hey. Syo came to us about checking on you.” Tomochika explained. “You alright?”

“Yeah.” I mumbled.

I open the door more and let them come in. As they walk in, they look around the room.

Half of the room is occupied by me while the other is completely empty. On my side, which is the left side, I have light green bedsheets covering the mattress with red pillows. I also have a red blanket tossed on top of the bed as I just got up from it. Against wall of the bed, a white body pillow lays there untouched. The walls themselves are bare as I have no posters to hang. They were all back at home. On my desk, piles of books are stacked on top of each other. A picture frame is hiding behind those books. There is a laptop laying at the center of the desk. The tall mirror from this morning was standing in the corner right next to the wardrobe and door that leads to the bathroom. Overall, the room is the same as Tomochika and Haruka’s room, just with slightly different things.

“Wow.” Haruka said, as she turns in circles. “You have a room to yourself?”

“Yeah.” I answered as I go to my bed.

I sit down on top of it and grab the body pillow. I hug it, trying to think that this is Aka who I am hugging. It doesn’t work.

“Did you request for it?” Haruka asked as she takes the chair from my desk and sits in it.

Tomochika goes to sit on the empty bed.

“No. They explain to me that there is an extra girl in this year’s enrollment and only one girl gets a room just to herself. I just happen to be the lucky winner.” I explained.

“Must be nice.” Tomochika commented.

“I don’t like it.” I said.

Haruka and Tomochika look at my direction. I squeeze the body pillow tighter. I press my face into it, trying to hide my sadness. My glasses digs into my face.

“Why?” Haruka asked.

“I’m used to sharing a room.” I mumbled into the pillow. “I’m don’t like how quiet it is. Especially at night.”

“Oh.” Haruka said. “Would you like to come sleep over at our room?”

I pull my face away and look at Haruka through my smudged glasses.

“Are you okay with that?” I asked quietly.

“Of course.” Tomochika said. “You’re our friend. We want you to be as comfortable here as you are at home.”

Tomochika gets up from her seat and moves to a spot next to me. She wraps her arm around my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. Unlike the other times when she gives me a hug, I relax in her embrace. This is the first time, other than Aka, that I feel comfortable enough to let someone else touch me.

“So,” Tomochika dragged out, “what makes you uncomfortable or don’t like?”

“I usually don’t let people touch me.” I said.

Tomochika quickly drops the arm that was around me. I laugh before leaning against her. Now that I am used to Tomochika’s touch, I can feel how warm she is.

“Don’t worry about it. I got used to your touches.” I said as I lay my head on her shoulder. “But you have to wait for me to initiate it.”

Tomochika stay still for a moment before putting her arm back around me. I sense more that feel Haruka getting up and moving to where the both of us are. The bed dips from the new weight applied to it. With a slight hesitation, Haruka goes to grab my hand. I let her.

“When I’m stressed,” I continued, “I will have a hard time eating. So, I would like it if you at least make me try to eat.”

I study Haruka’s hand. It is small and fragile looking. Her fingers are very slender. They almost look like they could break at any time. And there seems to be no calluses. I drag my thumb over the back of her hand. It is very soft.

“Your hand is soft.” I commented, feeling myself drifting a little. “And warm.”

Between Tomochika and Haruka’s warmth, I can feel myself falling asleep. My grip on my pillow slowly relaxes, almost dropping it on the ground. Just when I was about to go to dreamland, a shrilling noise breaks the peaceful quiet. I jump from where I am and fall onto the ground. Haruka yelps at the sudden noise and movement. Tomochika flinches. I stay on the ground for a minute before sitting up. The three of us look at each other before bursting into laughter.

Once we calm down, I realize that my phone was the one that made the noise. I grab it from where it laid on my pillow and check who it was. Syo’s name pops up. I swipe the button to answer it and bring the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?” I said.

“Teresa!” Syo’s voice shouted, making me pull the phone away. “Are you okay!? Did something happen!?”

I wince at how loud he was. Haruka and Tomochika look at me as they can probably hear him without the speaker on.

“First off,” I began as I slowly place the phone back next to my ear, “don’t start yelling like that. I almost had a heart attack.”

I hear Tomochika snickered. I give her a glare, which makes her snicker again.

“And secondly, I’m fine. I think the stress got to me.”

A sigh from Syo tells me that he is relief.

“That is good to hear.” Syo said.

“I told you the little kitten is alright, Ochibi-chan.” I hear Ren-san’s voice but not as clear as Syo’s.

“I’m not short!” Syo shouts at Ren-san. His voice is now away from the phone. “How many times do I have to say that!?”

I giggle. And from the way Haruka and Tomochika are smiling, they hear what he said as well. I stop giggling when my stomach wants attention. It growls so loud that Syo probably heard it through the phone. My face heats up as Haruka and Tomochika laugh loudly.

“What is happening?” Syo asked. “Who’s laughing?”

“It is only Haruka and Tomochika.” I answered. “My stomach growled really loudly.”

“Oh.” Syo chuckled. “Then why don’t we get some food? The cafeteria is just about to open.”

“Sound’s great. The three of us will be there shortly.” I said before ending the call.

“We better getting going if we don’t want Teresa-chan to faint again.” Tomochika said as she gets up from my bed.

Haruka follows. Tomochika leads us to the door but stops before it. Tomochika looks over her shoulder and looks at me. Her eyes move up and down.

“But before that,” Tomochika said, “go get change. I don’t think anyone would appreciate you if you went out like that.”

I look down and see my school clothes to be wrinkly. I push the two girls out of my room and get change into more casual clothes. For the first time in a long time, I feel relax in a new setting.

Even if I don’t have Aka by my side, I have friends to rely on. I like it.


	10. Chapter 10

“You sure you are alright?” Syo asked as we make our way to class. “You can still skip if you aren’t.”

“I’m fine, Syo.” I said. “I can’t just skip just because I don’t feel like it. I wouldn’t achieve my dream like that.”

It is the following day and I decided to go to class. Thinking back now, it is silly of me to run to my room and lock myself in just because of a guy I didn’t want to see. If I am going to be a composer, I must learn to deal with people that I don’t like.

We make it to the classroom and immediately go to our desk.

“I’m just worried, that’s all.” Syo said.

“How sweet, Ochibi-chan.” Ren-san said, his voice coming from the right of me.

I jump slightly in my seat and turn to see Ren-san standing there. I couldn’t help but let my eyes trail down to his chest. Damn, that chest is something. I mentally shake my thoughts away and force myself to look at his face. I don’t know if that is any better.

“Looks like the little kitten is enjoying herself.” Ren-san stated as he caught me staring.

I blush madly. I look away and stare at Syo instead. I quietly beg Syo to help me. He seems to get the message.

“Hey!” Syo shouted. “I told you that my name is not ‘Ochibi-chan’!”

I can feel Ren-san’s attention move to Syo and is about to tease him when a figure suddenly looms over me. I look up and see the one person I didn’t want to see now.

“You are Kokoro-san, right.” He asked.

I flinch at the name. I look down at my desk and play at the edge of my sleeve.

“Y-Yes. That-that is right.” I sputtered. “I look forward to working with you, T- Ichinose-san.”

Silences come over us, making the situation awkward. After what feels like forever, someone speaks up.

“I want to make one thing clear.” To- Ichinose-san said.

I know what he was about to say before he can even say it.

“You are not Hayato-san, right?” I stated.

I can’t see his face, but I can sense that To- Ichinose-san was surprised. To be honest, I know the Hayato-san does not exist. I know that it is Ichinose-san’s public persona. I know because I know him before his debut.

“Yes.” Ichinose-san said slowly. “I don’t want you to mistake me with my older twin brother.”

I guess we are going with that. But I find something weird about this situation. I look up and see Ichinose-san staring at me.

His eyes. His beautiful stormy blue eyes. They show no recollection. None at all. I don’t know if I should feel relief or hurt.

The boy. The boy that I used to know does not know who I am.

“Do you understand me?” Ichinose-san asked, making me break from my thoughts.

“Yes.” I struggled to say.

Ichinose-san nods before going to sit down two desks behind Syo’s. That is good because I don’t think I can stop staring at him if he is somewhere in front of me. Syo gives me a worry look and I can sense Ren-san giving me the same look. Before I can say anything to reassure them, Hyuga-sensei walks in.

I sigh in relief as I didn’t have to say anything. I just hope that they will forget about it.

They did not forget. The moment the bell rings is when Syo attacked me.

“Are you alright?” Syo asked as he stands in front of my desk.

I pick at my sleeve, not meeting Syo’s eyes.

“Yeah.” I said.

“You sure?” Syo pressed in more.

“Let the little kitten breath, Ochibi-chan.” Ren-san said as he gently pushes Syo back.

I didn’t realize Syo moving closer to me until Ren-san did that. I’m glad that he did. I don’t like how close Syo was getting to me.

I get up from my seat and stretch my arms up, pretending to be nonchalant about it.

“We should get going.” I said. “I am hungry and want to eat outside. It looks nice out there.”

The hungry part is a lie. The stress is really getting on my nerve but there is nothing I can do about it.

The outside part on the other hand is true. With the sun out and the wind blowing softly, I want to sit outside and play my guitar. Maybe we can stop by my room for me to grab it.

“What are we waiting for?” Ren-san asked.

Ren-san moves to the door with me following close behind. Syo hesitates a little bit before following us. As we are halfway to our destination, I realize something.

“Are you going to eat with us, Ren-san?” I asked.

Ren-san turns around, which makes us stop walking. He gives me a seductive smile.

“Why wouldn’t I get to eat with a beautiful lady like you?” Ren-san asked.

I blush at the comment. I spin Ren-san around and push him forward. I can still feel him smiling.

“Let’s go before the line gets too long.” I said while still pushing Ren-san to the cafeteria.

Syo chuckles as he follows is from behind. It is unfortunate for us as the cafeteria is packed again.

“I want hamburger!” Syo said as he rushes to the line where they serve hamburgers.

“What do you want, kitten?” Ren-san asked. “I’ll pay for you.”

“No.” I automatically said. “I can pay for myself.”

Before he has the chance to argue, I move to a random direction and disappear into the crowd. A good thing about my looks is that I blend with the crowd easily. I can’t sense Ren-san nearby. I look over everyone’s heads to see what line I am in. I see a sandwiches and other bake goods. I guess that is good since I am not extremely hungry and I could get a melon pan or something.

As I was waiting, I feel my phone vibrating. I pull it out and see Tomochika texted me.

The text reads:

**_“Where do you want us to meet up?”_ **

**_“I want to eat outside.”_ **

**_“I guess we can meet by the entrance.”_ **

**_“Okay.”_ **

I put my phone back in my pocket and move up in the line. Once I get to the counter, I can see the different variety of breads. It seems like melon pan is popular as there is only one left.

“I would like the melon pan, please.” I said.

The lady who is serving the food nods and grabs the bread. She puts it in a paper bag and hands it to me. I pull out my card and hand it to the lady. She scans the card and hands it back to me. I thank her and move away from the line.

I didn’t move that far when I hear a familiar voice talking.

“Are there anymore melon pan left?” I hear Masato-san’s voice said.

I turn to see that Masato-san was the next person in line.

“I am sorry.” The lady said. “She took the last one.”

I see Masato-san deflate. Feeling bad, I walk up to him.

“Here.” I said as I hold the melon pan out.

Masato-san is startled by my sudden appearance. He looks at me before shaking his head no.

“I can’t take that.” Masato-san said.

“It is fine.” I said, pushing the bread towards him. “I can get something else.”

“No.”

Masato-san is quite stubborn.

“Then how about you buy something, and we trade.” I suggested.

Masato-san is about to argue but stops. He thinks about it and nods.

“Okay.” Masato-san said. “Is there anything you would like?”

I look at the selections and see a chocolate croissant. I point to the croissant. Masato-san nods and buy it. Once the lady bags and hands it to Masato-san, we trade bags.

“Thank you for trading with me.” Masato-san said.

“You seem to like it more than me.” I stated. “So, it is fine with me that you to have it.”

“Thank you. You are really kind.”

I blush at the compliment. I am not used to it, but it is nice to hear it once and awhile. Because of my awkward self, all I did to respond back was nod. Maybe it is the awkwardness that I am emitting or what, Masato-san nods back. We stand there for a while, not knowing what to say. I can feel my cheeks heating up. I may regret suggesting this, but it is already awkward so I might as well ask him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the text message, Tomochika is on the left and Teresa is on the right.


	11. Chapter 11

I don’t know how I did it, but I got Hirijikawa Masato-san to eat with the group. After asking him if he wants to eat with me, Masato-san said yes. Now we are on our way outside and try to find a spot to eat. I was right when I said that it is nice outside. The cherry blooms are still falling but is much less than it was the last two days.

“It is quite nice out here.” Masato-san commented.

I nod in agreement and continue looking around. I found a spot where there are trees for shade and enough sunlight filtering through. Without thinking, I grab Masato-san’s sleeve and tug it. He seems startled by my action but says nothing. I point to the place that I spotted. Masato-san nods and we go to the spot.

When we sat down, I knew it was the perfect spot. Because of the shade, it provides a good cool breeze and the sun gives enough warmth that it wasn’t too hot. I could lay back and fall asleep here. Or maybe I could grab a good book to read.

“This is a nice place.” Masato-san said. “Almost makes me want to fall asleep.”

“Yeah.” I agreed.

I look at the view that was in front and couldn’t help but think how beautiful Saotome Academy is. With the green grass and the large lake, it is a perfect spot for tourist to come and take pictures of. My focus breaks when my phone vibrates. I grab it and look who it was. Syo texts me where am I. I unlock my phone and quickly reply where my location was. I set my phone down and see Masato-san beginning to eat his melon pan. When he takes a bite, his face lights up. I try to stop a giggle from coming out of my mouth but fail. Masato-san looks at me.

“Sorry.” I said, trying to cover my mouth with my hand. “You must really like melon pan, huh?”

Masato-san’s cheeks redden. It stands out more against his pale skin.

“Is that a problem?” He asked.

This makes me giggle again.

“Not at all.” I said. “I just think it’s cute.”

His face gets even redder. Before I can say anything else, I see people making their way towards us. As they got closer, I realize it was Syo and the others. I also see Natsuki-san and the redhead boy from the entrance exam with them. I wave to them. Only Haruka waves back.

“Nice spot.” Syo commented.

Syo plops down beside me. Haruka and Tomochika sits on the other side of me. Ren-san sits in between Syo and Masato-san. Masato-san makes a face when Ren-san sits next to him. All Ren-san did was smirk at him. The last two people takes the spot between Tomochika and Masato-san.

“Hirijikawa is here, too?” Ren-san said.

“Got a problem with that?” Masato-san asked harshly.

Ren shrugs.

“If the kitten invited you, then I can’t complain.” Ren-san said.

“Please don’t fight.” I said, feeling the heat between them.

Ren-san and Masato-san look at me before dropping the argument. I let out a sigh of relief. I did not want people arguing on such a nice day. After making sure they are calm, I grab my bag with the chocolate croissant and take a big bite out of it. The taste of the chocolate hits me at full force. The next thing that hits me is the smell of it. I let the piece rest in my mouth for a little bit before chewing.

“Like it?” Masato-san asked.

I nod my head vigorously. I don’t remember having such a delicious thing as this. I swallow before taking another bite.

“I’m glad.” Masato-san commented.

“Thank you for getting this for me.” I said after swallowing. “Now I am curious what the melon pan taste like.”

Masato-san breaks a small piece of his bread and hands it to me. I extent my arm out, passing over Syo and Ren-san. Masato-san drops the piece into my open hand. I bring it back over to me and toss it into my mouth. The sweetness of the bread and cookie is the first thing I taste.

“This is really good.” I said.

“It is.” Masato-san said as he takes a bite out of his melon pan.

“Do you like sweets, Te-chan?” Natsuki-san asked.

Natsuki-san has a bowl of salad out in front of him. I thought it is weird for someone his size to be eating something that is not too fulling, but I can’t judge how he eats.

“I do.”

“Then I can bake you some cupcakes.” Natsuki-san said excitedly.

Natsuki-san claps his hands together and starts ranting about what he should put in them. I hear Syo choking on something. Worried, I look over to him and was about to ask if he was okay. Syo looks at Natsuki-san in horror.

“I’ll help you!” Syo shouted.

I flinch back at how loud Syo is. The way his voice sound is a bit panicky to the point where I wanted to panic. Natsuki-san, either didn’t notice or ignore it, looks at Syo happily.

“Waa!” Natsuki said. “If Syo-chan helps, then it’ll be more fun and delicious to make them.”

Syo lets out a breath. I look at him before looking at Natsuki-san. I did that a couple of times, still not knowing what Syo is scared of.

“That sounds like fun.” The boy with the red hair said. “Can I join in?”

“Yes.” Natsuki-san agreed. “The more the merrier.”

I look at the redhead. Now that I have a closer look at him, I notice little fangs sticking out of his mouth. And for some reason, I can see dog ears and a tail on him. I shake my head and see the ears and tail disappear.

“Oh, right!” Tomochika said, making me jump. “You don’t know Otoya yet, right Teresa?”

I nod my head. Hearing his name, Otoya turns his head to Tomochika. He looks lost as he was in a deep conversation with Natsuki and Syo. I see him tilt his head to the side like a dog would do. I manage to contain a squeal that threaten to escape from my mouth.

“What about me?” Otoya asked.

“That you and Teresa haven’t met yet.” Haruka explained.

“Oh.” Otoya said.

I see the tail is back and this time it is wagging excitedly. Again, I manage to contain my squealing.

“I’m Kokoro Teresa.” I said. “You can call me Teresa.”

“Nice to meet you, Teresa.” Otoya said. “I am Ittoki Otoya. You can call me Otoya.”

Before I can say anything, I feel something touching my croissant and look down to see Ren-san taking a bite from it. Syo looks annoyed by this action and pushes Ren-san back. Ren-san’s face twists into disgust as he chews.

“It has chocolate in it.” Ren-san stated.

Masato-san hits Ren-san on the back on his head. Ren-san lets out a yelp and rubs the spot that Masato-san hits.

“Don’t just casually take a bite of someone’s food.” Masato-san said.

I couldn’t help myself and laugh really hard. Ren-san’s face when he got hit was too funny. It seems like I trigger something, and almost everyone starts laughing.

To laugh.

To talk and enjoy food together.

It is a really nice feeling to have.

I wish Aka is here too.


	12. Chapter 12

The day went by fast. Too fast for my liking.

I enjoy lunch with everyone. I even got to eat more than I have after these passed few days. I was sad that we have to separate but I was looking forward to having dinner with everyone.

But now it is the end of school and the feeling of dread fills me. Just before class begin after lunch, Ichinose-san came up to me and said that he wants to work on our project after classes.

“Kokoro-san.” Ichinose-san called out.

I flinch back but nod right after. I get up from my seat.

“I’ll see you guys later.” I said to Syo and Ren-san.

Ichinose-san walks out of the room. I scramble to catch up to him, not hearing Syo or Ren-san reply back to me. Once I catch up to him, I make sure that I was a few paces behind him. I must look like a lost puppy as I can see and sense eyes on me. I try to make myself smaller, but I don’t know I success or not. I didn’t know where we were going until I see the familiar sign. Ichinose-san did not wait for me as he walks in the library. I enter after standing there like an idiot for a minute. Ichinose-san looks around, but every spot has been taken. His face shows displeased as not only is there are a lot of people, but they are also quite noisy. I didn’t need him to say anything as I know what he wants.

“I know a spot.” I said quietly.

Not having to be told, I lead us to the special spot I found. I quickly make my way to my seat and start taking things out of my bag. Ichinose-san inspects the spot before approving it. He goes to the seat across from me and sits down. I still couldn’t look at him directly, so I look out the window. I immediately see a familiar red head. Near the lake, I can see Haruka and Otoya sitting next to each other. I couldn’t see their faces, but they seem to be enjoying themselves. I also spot a guitar in Otoya’s lap. Before I can think of doing a little jam section with him, Ichinose-san grabs my attention.

“I already have some ideas on what song we can do.” He said.

He hands me sheets of paper with a list written of it. I grab it and read the list. Most of the ideas are too generic, but I am too scared to voice it out. I also have a melody written out, but I also have no courage to let him see it.

“These are some good ideas to start with.” I said, rereading the list again. “Is there one in particular that you would like to do?”

Ichinose-san tells me the idea and I work with that. We work on the song for a few hours before calling it quits. I honestly did not like the song as it seems so forced, but I couldn’t voice it out loud. I look out the window and see that Haruka and Otoya already left.

“Let’s continue this tomorrow.” Ichinose-san said as he packs up his things.

I nod, mirroring his actions. We didn’t exchange any words and go our separate ways. It hurts. To know that he is not the same person as he was when we were younger. Well, he is the same, but the way he treats me hurts. I stop in the middle of the hall to check what time it is and see that I have an hour before I meet everyone else.

Deciding on the spot, I go to my room and drop off my bag. I grab my guitar and make my way to the lake. Glad to see no one around, I sit in the same spot as where Haruka and Otoya sat earlier. I make myself comfortable before tuning my guitar. Once I am satisfied, I begin to play something. I didn’t think about what I was playing. I just let my fingers do its own thing and let the melody carry out into the air. I pay attention to nothing but the music. I feel so relax that I did not realize there is someone listening to me. I jump out of my skin as I hear clapping behind me. I turn around and see Natsuki-san behind me.

“Sorry, Te-chan.” Natsuki-san said. “I couldn’t help but listen. It is really good.”

I blush at the compliment from the tall boy.

“Thank you.” I said.

I motion Natsuki-san to sit down. He takes the invitation and sits next to me.

“Did you write that song yourself?” Natsuki-san asked.

I look down at my guitar as I couldn’t look at his face.

“I guess so.” I mumbled as I pluck at the strings. “This is a really old song that I made with a friend.”

“It is really good.” Natsuki complimented. “Are you going to use it for your project?”

“No.” I said.

I flinch by my quick respond. I look out of the corner of my eyes to see Natsuki-san’s reaction. He didn’t seem to be phase by it, so I relax my tense muscles.

“Oh.” Was all Natsuki-san said. “I hope to hear the full version someday soon.”

“I don’t think so.” I said.

Natsuki-san looks over to me. I can barely see his eyes because of the glare of his glasses. But what I can see makes my spine shiver. Besides the usual brightness, I see a little bit of darkness in the sea of green. I couldn’t dwell on it for too long as I watch Natsuki-san getting up.

“I think we should make our way to the dining hall.” Natsuki-san said.

He holds his hand to me. I hesitate for a minute before taking it and have him pull me up. I tighten my grip on my guitar, scared that I might drop it, as Natsuki-san pulls me up strongly. I would have fall back down on the ground if Natsuki-san wasn’t here with me.

“Sorry.” Natsuki-san said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

I straighten up. I check my guitar and let out a relief to see that it is okay.

“Are you sure?” Natsuki-san asked.

“Yeah.” I said again. “Come on. We don’t want to let the other wait for us because we are late.”

Natsuki-san gives me a bright smile and practically drags me off. Unlike how Tomochika touched me, Natsuki-san’s touch is different. I can feel the warmth from where his hand holds my wrist. I feel my lips curl up as my heart is also warming up.

“Slow down, Natsu-san.” I said. “I need to drop my guitar first.”


	13. Chapter 13

After dropping off my guitar, Natsu-san and I make our way to the cafeteria. I already see Syo and Masato-san sitting at a table when we enter. The two of us make our way to the table.

“You two are early.” Natsu-san commented as he sits down next to Syo.

I sit across from the tall boy, which the seat is next to Masato-san.

“Yeah. It gets too crowded, so we thought to grab a table before the place is filled.” Syo explained. “By the way, why are you two together?”

“We happen to run into each other.” I said.

“You should hear Te-chan playing the guitar, Syo-chan.” Natsu-san said. “It makes me want to sing and dance when I listen.”

I feel my face heating up.

“Guitar?” I hear someone said behind me. “You play it too?”

I turn around and see Otoya standing there. Since I am sitting down, I can see Otoya is holding someone’s wrist. My eyes travel the arm until they stop at stormy blue eyes. I blink a little before realizing it was To-Ichinose-san. Ichinose-san gives Otoya a glare. Either Otoya didn’t notice or he ignores it as the redhead did not react to Ichinose-san’s icy glare. Instead, Otoya takes a seat next to Natsu-san and drags Ichinose-san next to him. Ichinose-san gives up on imitating the redhead and just sit down.

“That is right.” I said. “I saw you and Haruka outside earlier playing it and I made me want to play mine’s.”

I see Otoya’s cheeks change colors when I mention it.

“You saw that?” Otoya asked.

I nod. I feel my lips tremble from a certain urge that I cannot contain.

“Did you have fun on your date with Haruka?” I asked in a teasing way.

This makes Otoya blush even more.

“N-no! We weren’t on a date! We were just working on the assignment together!”

I let out a laugh as I listen to Otoya panickily explain. I laugh even harder when Otoya tries to glare at me to stop.

“What is so funny?” Haruka asked from behind me.

I turn around and see her and Tomochika standing there. I laugh again before looking at Otoya. The redhead is almost as red as his hair.

“Nothing!” Otoya shouted before standing up.

He quickly walks around the table and stands next to me. He pulls me up and starts to drag me away.

“We’re going to get our food!” Otoya said loudly with me giggling behind him.

Otoya is still holding onto me until we got into a line. I look up to see what it was. I see the word curry with a cute drawing of a plate of curry next to it.

“Sorry.” Otoya said as he scratches behind his head. “I didn’t mean to drag you like that.”

I give Otoya a smile, hoping he gets that I wasn’t mad at him.

“That’s alright.” I said. “Sorry for teasing you. I just couldn’t help myself.”

Otoya chuckles.

“It’s fine.” Otoya said. “I’m used to it.”

Silence washes over us as we wait in line. I watch Otoya bounce up and down, getting more intense the closer we got to the counter. Once we get to the counter, the lady only looks up for a second before plating the curry without Otoya saying anything. I see that there was a lot more curry than most of what the other students have.

“Thank you!” Otoya said as he grabs his tray and moves over.

I walk up and tell the lady what I want. It isn’t too long before I grab my own tray. As we walk back to the table, I think I faintly heard the lady say something but could not make out the words. I look back to try to hear what she said, but she went back to work. I shrug to myself before catching up to Otoya.

I see that we were the first one back as the table we sat at was almost empty. The only person who hasn’t leave to get their food yet is Ichinose-san.

“Why didn’t you go, Tokiya?” Otoya asked.

“I figured I should save our table so other people don’t take it.” Ichinose-san explained as we sat down.

“Oh. Well, you can go get your food now. We can hold down the fort from here.”

I nod as Ichinose-san looks at me. He nods back before getting up. It is once he disappears into the crowd that I begin to eat.

“So, you and Tokiya are partners for this assignment?” Otoya asked with his mouth full.

I feel my nose scrunched in disgust when he did that. I didn’t point it out though.

“Yes.” I answered as I stir my curry.

Although the smell of the curry is delicious, I could not bring myself to eat it. The thought of To- Ichinose-san being my partner for this assignment brings dread.

“I know he can be scary, but he is really nice.” Otoya said. “It just that people tend to be close to him because of Hayato, ya know.”

I smile when I hear Otoya said that, but I hide it by finally taking the first bite of my curry. I am filled with joy that someone knows how nice Ichinose-san is.

“I know.” I said before realizing something. “How do you know Ichinose-san? You were the one to bring him here, but you aren’t in our class.”

Before Otoya can answer, the other starts showing up.

“I was wondering about that too, Ittoki-kun.” Haruka stated.

“Me and Tokiya are roommates.” Otoya said as he shovels another spoonful of curry into his mouth.

“You’re roommates with that guy.” Syo said as he plops down next to me. “Must be a pain to live with him, huh?”

“It’s not as bad as living with him.” Masato-san said as he points to Ren.

“Come on, Hijirikawa. I’m not that bad.” Ren-san said.

Ren-san takes the seat next to Syo with Masato-san sitting across from him. Natsu-san takes a seat next to Otoya, which is across from Syo’s. Haruka takes the seat right across from me with Tomochika next to her.

“Actually, I can imagine living with Ren is worst.” Syo said.

“You’re breaking my heart, Ochibi-chan.” Ren-san said, dramatically clutching his chest. “I bet Kitten wouldn’t mind sharing a room with me.” 

Ren-san gives me a wink. I let out a snort when he did that, surprising Ren-san.

“Sorry, Ren-san. Even if I want a roommate, I wouldn’t choose you to live with me.” I said.

Ren-san let out a pained noise. Everyone laughs at his exaggerating acting as Ichinose-san perfectly shows up at the right time. He looks at us in confusion as he sits next to Ren-san.

“What is going on?” Ichinose-san asked.

Ren-san drapes himself over Ichinose-san.

“Everyone is being mean to me, Ichi.” Ren-san dramatically explained with fake tears.

Everyone laughs even harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said in my Animal Adventure, I have been busy with school. So, I might be posting chapters either every other week or once a month. For now, I hope you like this week's chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

The next few days have been uneventful. Ichinose-san and I managed to finish our song just yesterday. I honestly wasn’t fond of this song but if Ichinose-san likes it then I have no complaints. I do have another song written for him. I finished it the same night as when I ate dinner with everyone.

Today is the day, Ichinose-san records the song. I was outside the sound booth as he gets ready to sing. Once the music starts, I was hit by his beautiful voice. Flashes of memories flash through my mind as the recording continues. Although most of these memories are happy and joyful ones, they make me feel sad too. I was brought out of my thoughts when To- Ichinose-san was on his last line. I look over to where Hyuga-sensei was. His face shows no emotions. This makes me nervous. Hyuga-sensei waits for Ichinose-san to come out of the recording booth to say something.

“The composition of the song isn’t bad.” Hyuga-sensei said. “But it is more generic than I would like it to be.”

I lower my head as the pit in my stomach drops even lower than before.

“The real problem is your singing, Ichinose.”

I look up to see how Ichinose-san reacted. I mentally flinch at the sight of anger and pain crosses over his face.

“Your voice is perfect and the note you hit are perfect,” Hyuga-sensei said, “but your heart is not perfect. If you want to be an idol as good as your brother, you need to do better.”

With that, Ichinose-san and I bow to Hyuga-sensei and leave the room for the next pair can do their recording. I follow Ichinose-san from behind, staying quiet until we turn a corner.

“I’m sorry.” I said.

Ichinose-san stops walking suddenly, almost making me run into him. He turns around with a surprise look on his face. I look at him in confusion as to why he is surprise.

“Why are you apologizing?” he asked. “You have done nothing wrong.”

“It’s because my music that makes it should like you can’t express yourself.” I said. “If I wrote something better, Hyuga-sensei wouldn’t have said all that to you.”

I look down to the ground. My right hand is now gripping my left tightly, nails digging into my skin. We stand there for an uncomfortably long time. I hear Ichinose-san sigh, making me wince.

“Well, there is nothing for us to do now.” He said. “For now, we can do better next time.”

I nod, still not looking at him. Before any of us can say anything, my phone starts ringing. I grab my phone and look at the screen.

“Sorry, looks like I need to take this call.” I said, already walking away. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

I didn’t get to hear what Ichinose-san say, but I think I hear him say ‘see you’. I didn’t think too hard on it as I answer my phone.

“Hey.” I said as I quickly make my way to my room.

“How did your assignment go?” I hear Aka’s voice said. “You just finish recording it right?”

“Yeah. But I don’t think we did a good job.”

“Why is that?”

“Hyuga-sensei gave us some comments about our song being too generic and that To- Ichinose-san’s heart isn’t in it.”

Aka hums. Aka didn’t say anything for a minute.

“Change into something casual.” Aka said.

“Why?” I asked, confused as to why they meant by that.

“So I can pick you up.”

I stop right in front of my door, trying to process what they just said.

“Wait, you’re here?” I asked as I walk in my room.

I put Aka on speaker before putting it down on my desk.

“Yeah. Since it is the weekend and You just finish your big assignment, I thought we can hangout together.” Aka said.

I quickly change out of my school uniform and into something more comfortable, which consist of a plain black t-shirt, jeans and a hooded blue jacket.

“Are you at the gates right now?”

“Yeah.” Aka said. “Do you want to stay home tonight?”

“Sure. I think I need to fill out a form to stay out though.”

“Okay. I’ll just wait until you get out, so take your time.”

In the background, I hear something hit the ground really hard. I was about to ask Aka what is going on, but I didn’t get to say anything.

“Shit!” Aka said loudly.

“Missss Kokoro!” I hear a man’s voice said dramatically. “Why not go see your sister!?”

It takes me a minute to realize that it was Principal Saotome who was talking.

“I’m sorry?” Aka said, confusion can be heard in her voice.

“I saaaaaiiiid,” the principal said, “You should go see your sister! I’ll make sure someone will take care of your motorcycle! I am sure Misssss Kokoro would be happy to see you!”

I can tell Aka wanted to protest, but it seems like Principal Saotome is not taking no as an answer. Aka makes a grunt noise as the sound of gates opening can be heard somewhere in the background.

“And Misss Kokoro,” Principal Saotome called.

It takes me a minute to realize he is talking to me.

“Yes, sir?” I answered.

“Please give your sister a tour around the school before you leave.”

With that, the call is cut off. I blink at my phone before preparing to pack things for my overnight stay. It was 10 minutes after the call when I hear someone knocking on my door. I quickly open it. On the other side of the door, it was like looking at myself in a mirror.

The only real difference was that the person in front of me are their eyes, hair and clothes. Royal blue eyes look straight into my dark chocolate eyes. Their black, red highlighted hair drapes over their shoulder. Their clothes almost mirror mine’s but in different colors. Red t-shirt is being covered by a purple hooded jacket with black skinny jeans and red high-top shoes. A red bandana around their right thigh completes their look.

“Hey.” They said as they walked into the room.

I couldn’t help myself. I launch myself towards my twin. Expecting this, they quickly wrap their arms around me, hugging me tightly.

“I miss you so much,” I said, “Aka.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the lack of music terminology and how Shining Saotome speaks. I really don't know how he speaks as it is a mixture of languages. I also don't know the terminologies as I only know the really, really basic, and even that is limited. I'll try harder to include the correct facts as I do want to make this a good story for all of you to read. Again, I would like for you to know that I will be updating once a month. I'll probably update more frequently once school has died down. Which would be around Christmas time. Until next the next chapter, bye.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back. I have not died from COVID or from any other disaster that could potentially kill me. Whether that is a good thing or not depends on you. Anyways.
> 
> Before reading the chapter, I want to thank GlitterQueen47 for commenting each chapter. I have been wondering if this fic and my other one, Animal Adventure, are good or not and have thought about dropping them both. But thanks to you, I have the motivation to continue writing them. Reading your comments have to me happy. So, thank you for getting my motivation back and for the positive comments, Glitter. I hope you like this chapter.

I give Aka one last, tight squeeze before letting her go. Looking at her now makes me realize just how much I missed her. Aka gives me a smile as she squeezes my upper arm.

“Miss you too, Teresa.” Aka said. “By the way, mind introducing your friends to me? They thought I was you and wouldn’t stop thinking that I was joking.”

Aka nods her head to the group behind her. I look over Aka’s shoulder and let out a laugh at Haruka and Tomochika’s faces.

“It might be my fault that I didn’t tell them that I have a twin.” I said as I lead all three of them further into my room.

“Not only that, but you didn’t even say that you had a sister!” Tomochika exclaimed as she plops herself on the unoccupied bed. Haruka sits next to her.

I sit myself on my bed and without saying anything, Aka goes to sit to the right of me. I subconsciously lean against her, liking how right it feels to be next to my twin again.

“I didn’t?” I repeated.

“No, you didn’t!”

“I bet you just assume they know that you have a sister to begin with.” Aka said.

I have nothing to say as she is correct. Aka sighs before putting her attention to my two friends.

“And since Teresa isn’t going to introduce me, I’ll have to do it myself. I am Kokoro Aka, Teresa’s unmentioned older twin sister.”

“I am Shibuya Tomochika, but you can call me Tomo-chan.” Tomochika introduced. “This is Nanami Haruka.”

“It is nice to meet you, Kokoro-san.” Haruka said as she slightly bows.

“No need to call me that.” Aka said as she leans back slightly and crosses her legs. “We are both Kokoro so it gets confusing if you call us that. If anything, we prefer if you call us by our given names.”

“Okay, Aka-san.” Haruka said.

“So, Aka-chan,” Tomochika called, “what are you doing here? I thought that visitors can’t get in here unless they have permission.”

“Your principal was the one who invited me.” Aka answered. “Scared the crap out of me when he suddenly jumped off the wall and landed right in front of me.”

“Principal Saotome did? Did he know you were there?” Tomochika asked.

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprise if he knows through security, but to meet me when I just got to the school is pretty sus.” 

“Sus?” Haruka repeated, confused by the word.

“Whoops. I been watching too much Among Us that I forget that not everyone plays it.” Aka said before rephrasing her words.

I smile as I watch my sister and my two friends getting along really well. It makes me super happy to see Aka like this. Usually, she would be wary of strangers, but since I guess they are my friends, Aka does not mind getting to know them. I listen to them talk for a while before something starts growling. This make Haruka and Tomochika jump at the sudden noise. Aka just chuckles. Aka stands up and starts stretching.

“Sounds like someone is hungry.” Aka said as she looks at the clock on my bedside table. “We should get something eat now since it is close to dinnertime.”

I look at it and read 4:53 PM. Aka helps me stand up as I feel one of my legs falling asleep.

“Whoa, it’s that late already?” I said. “I don’t think we will have enough time to give Aka a tour.”

“Why don’t she stay the night here?” Tomochika suggested. “That way we can show her around the school tomorrow.”

Tomochika and Haruka get up.

“Unfortunately, I have to go to work tomorrow and my workplace is pretty far from here.” Aka said.

“Oh.” Haruka said. “Well, maybe next time you come by, we can give you a tour.”

“I would like that.”

Just when I was about to suggest getting food from the cafeteria, my phone rings. I grab it from where it was laying on the table and read the screen.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey, where are you right now?” Syo’s voice asked.

“My room. Why do you want to know?”

“Me and the guys are already at the cafeteria at the moment and wonder if you, Nanami, and Shibuya would like to join us?”

“Hold on, let me ask them.” I said before pulling the phone away from my ear. “Syo called. He and the other guys are at the cafeteria and wants to know if we want to join them?”

Haruka nods and Tomochika gives me a thumbs up. I look to Aka. Aka shrugs, telling me that it is my choice. I put the phone back against my ear.

“We’re coming. We might have an extra person, if you don’t mind.” I said.

“That’s fine. The more the merrier.” Syo said excitedly. “See you soon.”

“See ya.” I said before ending the call.

“We better hurry before the boys eat everything.” Tomochika stated.

As we make our way the cafeteria, Tomochika and Haruka walk a little bit ahead of Aka and me. The two in front were chatting away about something that I didn’t pay attention to. The only thing I focus on the most is the presence of my sister next to me and her warmth. Without realizing it, I grab Aka’s hand into mine’s and start humming quietly. Aka is used to this, so she just listens to my humming as she guides me to our destination. It feels like it has been so long since I was this relax. I could have been dosing off if I wasn’t walking.

“We’re here.” Aka said as we both stop at the entrance of the cafeteria.

I can feel Aka tense a little. To comfort her, I squeeze her hand. Aka squeezes back and relaxes.

“Come on, I want them to meet you.” I said as I now lead us to the table that we usually sit at.

I can already see Natsu-san over the sea of heads. As we get closer, I can see Otoya and Syo with him.

“My eyes are burning.” Aka said as she stares at my colorful friends.

I laugh at her comment before saying, “You should see when everyone is together.”

I continue to lead us to the table with excitement running through me. To have my friends meet my sister makes me extremely happy.

“Hey, guys.” I greeted them. My voice is slightly higher than usually. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note since it has been a while since chapter 6, the guy on the magazine is Tsunashi Ryunosuke from Trigger. He is from the anime called Idolish7. So if you like utapri, I highly recommend this anime. Be warned, you are going to need lots of tissues.


	16. Chapter 16

Dinner went as well as I would have expected to be. Aka seems to get along with everyone fairly well. Even with Ren-san, whose personality conflicts with hers. Right after dinner, Aka and I went home, and I stayed there the whole weekend. I feel so relax being back home. I could actually sleep after like two weeks of barely no sleep.

Now, I am back at school and our next assignment is surprising to say the least.

“For this next assignment,” Hyuga-sensei said, “you will choose a group of a maximum of four people with at least one composer. In each group, you must compose a song along with the choreography and costume. You will be preforming in front of three judges and they will judge how well your performance is. If you do well, then you pass. But if you don’t, then you will have another chance make it up by doing a second performance.”

I mentally groan at the thought of working with other people. At least I get to choose who is in my group, but that still makes me uncomfortable to work with people. I know it is bad to have this kind of thinking in this profession, but I can’t help my introverted self.

“Now, take this time to choose who you want in your group and make arrangements to work on this assignment.” Hyuga-sensei said.

Immediately, the whole class gets up and go to their friends to group up. Well, to be more accurate, most of the boys group up with their friends while the girls gather around Ren-san and Ichinose-san to be in their group. I do see one or two boys going in Ichinose-san’s spot, but they are overthrown by the girls. Poor chaps.

Anyways, I have to get out of my seat to avoid getting crush by them. I let out a breath of relief and I go stand by Syo’s desk.

“He barely assigned us this and they are already after Ren and Tokiya.” Syo said as he watches the chaos going on. “Well, at least I have you in my group, right?

I nod before answering.

“Yeah.” I said. “Let’s see if there is anyone else to join us.”

I look over and around for more people to group up. I can see the sea of girls dissipating and forming their own groups. It is discouraging to see that a lot of students already have a full group.

“See anyone we can group up with?” Syo asked.

“No.” I said.

Before I can go and walk around to find people, Ren-san makes his way to Syo and me.

“Looking for people to work with?” Ren-san asked.

“Why do you ask?” Syo asked. “Don’t you already have a group to work with?”

“Nope.” Ren-san answered. “I actually want to work with you and Kitten.”

I made a weird noise when I heard Ren-san said that.

“What?” I said.

“The three of us should be a group.” Ren-san rephrased.

“Why not work with some of the girls who were asking you earlier?” Syo asked.

“I thought it would be fun to make a song together. Also,” Ren-san said before turning to me, “I want to hear what Kitten’s music sound like.”

“Now that you mention it, we never got to listen to any of the music you compose yet.” Syo stated.

I feel sweat running down my face as I feel the pressure is on me now.

“I don’t know it’ll meet your expectations.” I said timidly.

“Come on, you must be good if you are in the S class.” Syo said as he gets up and leans over his desk.

“I guess.”

Still not sure, I turn away from the boys to see if there is one more person to join us. I didn’t have to look hard as a person walks up to us.

“I’m joining your group.” Ichinose-san said.

“Oh?” Ren-san said. “Icchi wants to join our group?”

“Don’t get me wrong. Your group seems to be less irritating than those girls.”

“Ow, Icchi. You’ll hurt all those pretty ladies’ hearts if they hear that.”

“Well if you want to join, you are more than welcome.” Syo said. “Alright! We have a full group.”

Although I can feel my lips curling up, I feel a pit in my stomach dropping as I look at the three boys in front of me. I was really happy when Syo want to be one of my group members, but to have Ren-san and Ichinose-san joining us make the pressure from earlier press even harder on my shoulders.

“So how about it, Teresa?” Syo asked.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not hear the discussion that was going one.

“Sorry, can you repeat that?” I asked.

“We would be gathering tomorrow after classes are over at the library. You don’t have anything during that time, right?” Syo explained.

“I’m free.” I quickly said. “I’m fine working on the assignment tomorrow.”

“Great. I can’t wait to get started.”

“Yeah.” I softly said.

I start to scratch the back of my left hand as Syo, Ren-san, and Ichinose-san discuss in more detail about the assignment. My hand slowly turns red with each scratch, but I did not notice. It wasn’t until the bell ring for the next class that I realize how red it is. Luckily, no one notices it and I can easily hide my hand in my sleeve.

“We can talk more once we meet up tomorrow.” Ichinose-san said as he gets up from his seat. “Be sure to have ideas ready by then.”

With that, he was the first one out of the room.

“Alright, you tomorrow, Kitten. Ochibi-chan.” Ren-san said.

He gives us a quick wave as he casually leaves the room.

“Okay. And my name is Kurusu Syo!” Syo shouted after him. “See ya later, Teresa.”

And now only one remains. I wait for everyone to leave the room before getting out myself. I take my time as I walk to my next class. As I was walking, I think about the three boys. They all have different personalities, but they seem to fit each other well. Like they balance each other out.

The images of Syo, Ren-san, and Ichinose-san slowly turn into a melody. I bob my head up and down as the melody flows smoothly in my mind. By the time I sit down, a full song was created.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that most of the chapters I wrote are mostly them eating. So for this chapter, I just skip the interaction between Aka and the group. I think it is for the best as I could not come up with anything for Aka to say to them. Now that I have finish the semester, I will have more time to write these chapters. Animal Adventure is going to be on hiatus because I am having writers block for it. Anyways, I hope you like today's chapters and see ya next time.


	17. Chapter 17

When school finally ended, I rushed to my room and holed myself to write the melody. From time to time, I would play it on the guitar to hear if it sounds good or not. I worked on it for so long that I did not realized that I skipped dinner and it is really late at night.

I only realize it is late because I stop to stretched and look at my clock that was resting on my desk. Although I can feel my body being tired, my mind doesn’t want to go to sleep yet. So instead of going to bed, I grab my guitar and leave my room. I quietly make my way outside and to the lake. I was in awe when I see the water sparkles. It is like the sky has been painted on the ground. What makes it more beautiful is the moonlight lighting up not only the lake but also the trees and the gazebo.

Moonlight. The nickname I gave him. It is such a childish name, but it seems to fit him. I go to the gazebo and sit myself down there. Wanting to hear the song again, I start playing it. The further I played it, the more intense I strum my guitar. All the stress, all the pain, all of the emotions I felt up until now was put into this song.

Once I come to the end, I let out a breath that I did not realized I held. I feel like my bones melted away as I slump back. My eyes slowly close. I try to blink away the exhaust but failing. I almost fall asleep, but someone startles me from my dazed state.

“Go back to your room if you are going to fall asleep.” Masato-san said.

To tried to sit up, I bend my head back as see the young scion standing there.

“Oh. Masa-san. A beautiful night, right?” I said, trying to sound less tired than I actually feel.

“Teresa-san. Have you been feeling alright?” Masa-san asked as he sits down next to me.

“It’s just my insomnia, that’s all.” I said.

It maybe me being tired, but I let out one of the secrets that I didn’t want the others know about. If my mind wasn’t so mess up, I would have panicked

“Insomnia? Do you have anything to combat it?” Masa-san asked.

“I take sleeping pills, but I don’t like how sluggish and tired I feel when I take them.”

And makes me feel depress, but I did not say that out loud. We look up into the sky. It looks more impressive in person than in the water, but no less beautiful. I was hit by a memory of Toki, Aka, and I, looking at the stars together. Aka and I were not worry about getting caught for sneaking out and staying up late, but Toki had strict parents, so it has taking a lot of convincing to get him to sneak out of his house. Just remembering makes my heart ache.

I feel like someone was watching and turn my head. I see Masa-san looking at me. His purple eyes are so clear that I can see my reflection in them. If it wasn’t for the fact that I fell in love with different pair of eyes, I might have fallen for his.

“Is something wrong?” I asked after having a staring contest with Masa-san.

“Nothing. You were just smiling.” Masa-san said. “I think it’s pretty.”

My cheeks start to turn red when I hear Masa-san said that. I quickly cover them with my hands and rub them to get rid of the blush.

“Were you remembering something?” Masa-san continued to ask, ignoring my embarrassment.

“Yeah.” I answered in a small voice. “Watching the stars makes me remember something similar when I was younger.”

We stay sitting there for a while before I shiver from the cold breeze blowing against me.

“I think it is time for us to return our rooms.”

Masa-san stands up and holds his hand out to me. I hesitate for a moment before grabbing his hand. When I made contact with his hand, I feel how icy cold they feel. I feel guilty for making sit with me during this cold night.

“Sorry.” I blurted out.

“What for?” Masa-san asked, looking at me with confusion.

“You must be cold sitting out here.”

“Ah. Do not worry. I wanted to be out here for some fresh air. I am actually glad you are out here. If you didn’t, we wouldn’t have seen this beautiful scene together.”

My heart did a flip. If I didn’t know Ren-san was such a flirt, I would have thought Masa-san was one. Maybe he is one of those natural flirts that didn’t know he was flirting. That idea was so ridiculous that I laugh. Masa-san gives me a curious look.

“What is it?” Masa-san asked.

“Sorry. I just imagine you being like Ren-san.” I said.

I laugh even harder when Masa-san’s face twisted into disgust. His face did not stay like that for long as he starts to smile. After laughing, I feel a whole lot better. And sleepy. I let out a yawn, covering my mouth out of habit. This gets Masa-san to yawn as well. I give Masa-san a sleepy giggle.

“Let’s head back and get some rest.” I said.

Without thinking I grab Masa-san’s hand and lead him back inside. Masa-san says nothing and did not pull his hand away. I must have been really sleepy as I lead him all the way to my room.

“Sorry.” I said as I let go of his hand.

“It’s fine. I was going to follow you to your room anyways as it is not safe for a girl to be out here on her own. Plus, I was worried that you might have fallen asleep on your way back.” Masa-san said.

I give him a smile before saying, “Thank you, Masa-san. Get back safely, okay?”

Masa-san nods.

“Goodnight.”

And that was the last thing I hear him say before going back to his own dorm room.

“Night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Late Christmas! I know I'm posting this chapter the day after Christmas, but I didn't have time to write two chapters and a one-shot all in one day. Anyways, if you haven't read it already, I wrote a Christmas fic of Teresa and Toki spending their Christmas day by just chilling together. It is called Christmas Chill. Go check it out once you finish reading this. Until next time, bye.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year's!
> 
> Before beginning the chapter, I want to say that I change Ren's nickname for Teresa to Koneko-chan. The reason is that GlitterQueen47 told my that in Japanese, koneko means kitten. I like the Japanese word for kitten better and it goes with Aka's nickname, Neko-chan. So from now on, Ren will be addressing Teresa as Koneko-chan. Thanks Glitter for telling me this.

It is finally time to meet my group and my heart is beating at 100 mph right now. I am also running on coffee since I did not sleep at all. Despite my body being tired, my mind is restless. I have thought to taking sleeping pills, but I have less than 8 hours before class starts and I did not want my perfect attendance to be ruin. So, I decided to wait until the cafeteria is open and grab some coffee to at least be awake throughout the morning.

Now, it is time. I was the first at the library. I decide to sit at the table by the wall near the entrance of the library. I have thought about working at my secret spot, but I want to keep it a secret a little bit longer.

I didn’t have to wait too long for one of the boys to come. As I expected, To- Ichinose-san arrives right on time.

“Good afternoon.” Ichinose-san greeted as he takes a seat across from me.

“Good afternoon.” I said.

We sit in silence as we wait for the others. It is awkward with the two of us here. That is why I am relieved to see Syo coming in. I wave to Syo to show where we are.

“Hey, guys.” Syo greeted as he plops himself next to me. “Have you started already or were you waiting for all of us to be here.”

“We waited.” I answered.

“Well, don’t bother waiting for Ren.” Syo said. “He just texted me saying that he’ll be late, so we should start without him.”

“Alright.” Ichinose-san said. “The first thing we need to address is the theme of our song.”

I was about to announced that I finish composing the song, but Syo speaks over me.

“We should do something action-packed. With fast-paced melody.” Syo suggested.

Ichinose-san nods as he takes a notebook out from his bag, flips to an empty page, and writes down Syo’s suggestion. This went on for a while. I never got to voice out anything as Syo and Ichinose-san go back and forth suggesting the theme of our song. It is 30 minutes into our discussion that Ren-san shows up.

“So glad for you to join us.” Ichinose-san said sarcastically.

“Aww, Icchi. Did you miss me?” Ren-san asked.

Ren-san sits next to Ichinose-san and throws his arm around his shoulders. Ichinose-san gives Ren-san a dirty look before shrugging him off. Ren-san seems to not be bothered and instead leans forward on the table and looks at me.

“So how far did you get so far?” he asked me.

“We have many ideas for the theme, but we haven’t narrow down one yet.” I answered.

“And I’m guessing love would be too overused for a theme, right?” Ren-san asked.

“Yes,” Syo said, “but we did put it in the list just in case if we want to use it as our theme.”

After that, we continue adding ideas to our list of themes. It takes longer for us to pick one, but we finally choice one and are moving on to the dance choreography. But before we can begin, I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I take my phone out and see who was calling me.

“Sorry, I need to take this.” I said as I get up.

I quickly but quietly walk out of the library. I answer the call once I step out.

“Hey.” I said as I put the phone against my ear.

“Sorry if you were busy, but I need to tell you something.” Aka’s voice said through the phone.

“Is it something important?”

“Yeah, but it’s nothing bad. I just want to let you know that I’ll be going to America for two weeks.” Aka said.

“Oh. When are you going to leave?”

“In two days.”

“Do you want me to come sees you off at the airport?” I asked.

“If you want, but you might need to get permission to leave first.”

“Okay.”

“That is all I have to say.”

“Okay. I see you in two days.”

“Yeah.” Aka said. “Bye. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

With that, we end the call. I stay there for a minute before going back. I feel dread knowing that I wouldn’t be able to see Aka for two weeks, but I know that this is for work.

That’s fine. I can survive for two weeks without Aka. This is not the first time Aka has to go on a business trip overseas for a long time. This is no different.

Having enough thinking, I focus on doing the assignment.

“Sorry about that.” I said as I sit back in my spot. “My sister called to tell me that she’ll be away for two weeks.”

“Oh. So, you wouldn’t be going home, Koneko-chan?” Ren-san asked.

“No. But it’s okay since this is not the first time Aka leave for a long time.” I said.

“If you want, I can keep you company.”

Ren-san gives me a wink, which makes me giggle.

“If you don’t mind hanging out with a shut-in like me.” I said.

Before Ren-san and I can continue teasing each other. Ichinose-san clears is throat to get our attention.

“Please save the chit-chatting for later. Right now, we need to finish up organizing what we should do for this assignment.” Ichinose-san said.

At his command, we continue working on the assignment. We were so into the work that we did not realize it was close to dinnertime. The only thing that alert us that it was dinnertime is when Syo’s stomach started to growl. Syo blushes when he hears how loud his stomach was.

“Let’s stop for today.” Ren-san said. “Don’t want Ochibi-chan dying from hunger.”

“Shut up!” Syo shouted. “And my name is Syo!”

The librarian quickly shushes Syo when he was loud.

“I think that is a good idea.” Ichinose-san said as he packs up. “We can continue tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” Syo agreed as he also starts picking his stuff up.

“No problems here.” Ren-san said.

“Be sure to be on time tomorrow.” Ichinose-san pointed out.

“Are we going to work the day after tomorrow?” I asked.

“It depends on if everyone is free or not, right.” Syo said.

“If you all are free that day, you can work without me. I’ll be gone to see my sister leave at the airport.”

“Alright. Thanks for telling us in advance.”

Ichinose-san nods as he shoulders his bag over his shoulder.

“Good. Now, lets get something to eat.” Syo said as he bounces his way out.

Ren-san and Ichinose-san follow right behind him.

“Actually, I think I’ll skip dinner today.” I said.

“Why is that?” Ren-san asked.

“I’m not too hungry right now. Plus, I want to get some sleep since I wasn’t able to last night.”

“Okay. Well if you want us to save you some food, just call us.” Syo said.

“Thank you.”

With that, I separate myself from the group and go to my room. I can feel my body dragging itself to my destination. Once I shut the door behind me, I sink down to the ground and lean my back against the door. All the energy that I have leaves my body and I have no intention on getting up anytime soon.

I finally get up when I feel my butt feeling numb from sitting there for so long. I drag myself to my desk and pull out the top drawer. I blindly fish around in the drawer until I feel the object that I want to grab. I pull it out and open the pill container. I spill two sleeping pills into my palm before closing the container and tossing it back into the drawer. I grab my warm water bottle and quickly take the pill. Before the sleeping pills can take affects, I get change into my sleeping clothes and slide into my bed. Once my head hits my pillow, I was out like a light.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting last week. I had no motivation to write, but luckily for me, it was only that week. Hopefully I can write every week even if school seems to interrupt schedule. And for those curious of when I post chapters, I will post on the weekend, mostly Friday or Saturday. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this week's chapter.

A day has already passed since Aka left and I already miss her.

I know that this isn’t the first time, but for some reason I miss Aka more than I usually do. So, to distract myself from loneliness, I focus on the assignment.

Once our group have figured out what our theme was, we assigned jobs to each member. I have obvious been assigned to compose the song. Ichinose-san is the one to write the lyrics. Syo is in charge of the dance choreography and Ren is in charge of costumes.

Now, it is dark outside, and I am in my room, trying to compose. But no matter what I think of, I can’t seem get a single note to come to me. I look at the music sheet that I wrote on before sighing.

“I really want to use it, but it might not be the vision they wanted.” I said to myself.

Giving up for the night, I put away the things on my desk and get ready for bed. As I finish changing, I go back to my desk and grab the sleeping pill. I really hate having to take them, but I will not function at all if I have sleep deprivation. With no choice, I take the pills and go to bed.

Like a blink of an eye, it is morning and I can still feel the effects of the sleeping pills. I was tempted to just skip and sleep some more, but then I remember that I have another meeting with the boys. I groan in complain as I get out of my warm, comfortable bed to get ready for the day. I shiver when the cold air hits my body.

After putting on my school uniform and brushing my hair half-heartedly, I quickly check my bag to make sure I have everything and leave my room. I didn’t even bother tying my hair up. That is how tired I am right now. I make my way to the cafeteria to quickly grab a cup of coffee and go to the library to work on the song some more. I let out a big yawn as I wait for my coffee. I nearly jump out of my skin as I put in some creamer and sugar in the coffee by a loud voice calling my name.

“Teresa!”

I turn around and see Otoya bouncing his way to me.

“Morning.” Otoya said as he stops besides me.

“Morning.” I greeted back as I go back to making my coffee.

“I almost missed you.” Otoya stated. “I don’t think I ever see your hair down.”

“I usually don’t have my hair down. It gets in the way sometimes.” I said.

I stop mixing the coffee and take a tiny sip, blowing it first so it doesn’t burn my tongue, to make sure that it is to my taste.

“Then why don’t you just cut it off?” Otoya asked.

“I like it long.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that. It looks really pretty.”

I can feel my face heating as I give Otoya a shy smile.

“Thanks.” I said as I finish making my coffee.

I appreciate how patience Otoya is as I make my coffee. It is also nice to have a conversation with as Otoya have never run out of things to say, even if the conversation derails from time to time. Once I am satisfied with my coffee, I nod to Otoya so we can sit at our usual table.

“What are you doing up so early?” I said as I take a sip.

“I was just doing some morning exercise.” Otoya answered. “I get stiff if I don’t do it every day.”

“Do you like sports? You seem like the type of person who likes to play sport.”

“I do. I like playing most sports. Soccer being my favorite.”

I hum in response as I take another sip of my coffee.

“What about you?” Otoya asked.

I see Otoya lean closer, almost laying on the table when he questions me.

“I’m not that much into sports.” I said. “Unless you count sports anime.”

“Sports anime?”

“Yeah. Just something about them makes me want to play the sport. I guess it’s the overdramatic and tense scenes that gets me excited.”

“Ooooh.” Otoya said, eyes shining with interest. “Do you have any recommendations?”

I didn’t think I have this much fun talking about anime with someone other than my sister, but here I am excitedly talking about my favorite anime with someone who is probably casual with anime. I didn’t think I talk for that long until I feel my phone ringing in my pocket. I pull out my phone and see that my alarm went off.

“Oh shoot.” I said as I turn the alarm off. “Classes are about to start.”

I down my now cold coffee in a few gulps and go toss the paper cup away. Otoya follows suit.

“Man, I wanted to hear more about that slime guy. Did he manage to kill all of those wolves or not?” Otoya said in a disappointed voice.

“Well, I can’t spoil everything for you. You just have to go and watch it for yourself.” I said. “We better get going before we are late.”

“Oh, alright. But you should definitely tell me more when we hang out again.” Otoya said.

“Deal. See ya later.”

I wave Otoya a goodbye before sprinting to my homeroom. Before I can fully turn away from him, I see Otoya wave back before going his way. I was relieved to know that I made to class with about 5 minutes to spare.

“Morning, Teresa.” Syo greeted as I sit down in my seat. “You are late today. Usually, you would have been here 10 minutes early.”

“I was talking to Otoya in the cafeteria and lost trace of time.” I said.

“What did you talk about?” Syo said.

I was about to answer, but Hyuga-sensei walks in before I can have a chance. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to tell Syo, but I guess I can tell him later.

Unfortunately, I completely forgot about it as I feel the stress increasing throughout the following days.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are two things that I would like to answer for Glitter.
> 
> First: The anime that I was referencing was "that time I got reincarnated as a slime." Fun fact is Otoya's VA, Terashima Takuma, did the two openings for that anime's first season. I really like it so I recommend watching it.
> 
> Second: Sorry for making the recent chapters so filler-y. I thought that if I build the suspense a little, it would get you excited for the next chapter, but it seems like it didn't work. And there will be drama don't worry. It's coming soon. When you may ask? You shall have to wait and see. :3
> 
> Anyways, that is all I have to say. I hope you like this chapter and hopefully the next one too.

Days have passed since my sister left on her business trip and I am struggling to get through even a day.

I have been feeling nothing but stress as of late and almost broke down when it got too much. It wasn’t helping that my insomnia has gotten worse, and the sleeping pills are hurting me more than it is helping me. My appetite also seems to be nonexistent at this point. Now, I am consistently getting headaches and feel drained. 

Today is the day that our group assignment to perform and I was almost tempted to just ditch the boys so I can stay in bed. In the end, I don’t think I can take the guilt of not showing up and disappointing them, even though I know that I disappointed them with the song that I composed. I still have the song that I wrote on the first day the assignment was announced but never have the time to show the boys. The song that I composed for the performance makes me feel like the one that I wrote for Toki. Which means that I dislike it. Actually, I dislike it even more that Toki’s song. I just want to burn it, but it is already too late to write a new one.

Before it was our turn to perform, the group decided to meet up hours early to get some last-minute performance in and try to fix any minor things. And this is what we are doing right now. We got permission to used one of the empty practicing rooms the day before. I was in the far corner room, in charge of playing and stopping the instrumental song when they need it, and watch the boys practice. Well, try to watch as my vision keeps coming and going from lack of sleep. I hear someone telling me to stop the song and I robotically obey.

“I keep telling you to stop doing that, Ren.” I hear Toki say.

Although I can’t see well, I can guess that Ren shrugs his shoulders and Toki lets out a heavy sigh.

“Let’s just take a break.” Syo said, interfering before a fight broke out.

I am grateful to Syo as I didn’t want my headache to get worse from the loud shouting.

“Okay.” Ren-san said.

I didn’t hear Toki say anything, but I think he nods. I see the boys split off to their respective bags, before putting my head down into my knees. Even with my eyes close, I can feel my head pulsing in pain.

“You are alright?” I hear someone ask.

I wasn’t expecting anyone to come near me, so I jump. I look up and see Syo’s blurry figure standing in front of me.

“I’m fine.” I said, slurring my words a little. “Just a little headache.”

“Do you want something to ease the pain?” Syo asked.

I shake my head before putting my head down. Even though I said little, I know that that is a lay as the pain is almost unbearable, but I did not want them to worry about me when they are about to go preform.

“Are you sure?” Sounds of rustling was coming to my left side. “Why don’t you tell Hyuga-sensei that you aren’t feeling well? I think he’ll understand that you can’t show up.”

“I’m fine. I just need to rest a little bit right now.” I said, not lifting my head at all.

It was quite for a second before Syo says, “Okay, but if it gets worst, tell me. Alright?”

“Alright.” I said.

“I think we rested enough.” Toki’s voice rang throughout the room. “Let’s get back to practicing.”

Syo sighs in annoyance before getting up. We continue this for the next two hours. We get out of the practicing room and make our way to where we are assigned to perform. Since I didn’t need to be on stage, I go wait backstage as the boys go change into their outfits. I feel so nervous, not knowing if we are going to pass or fail. I scratch my left hand, be more aggressively with each passing minute. I calm down slightly when I see the boys coming out of the dressing room that they provide for the students.

“You all look great.” I said, even though I can’t really see.

“These are really high quality.” Toki stated as he feels the fabric on his arms.

“It pays to get good connection.” Ren-san said.

I am guessing Ren-san is giving us a smirk by the sound of his voice.

“Yeah, yeah. We get it. You are rich.” Syo said.

Just before anyone can continue this conversation, someone calls our group.

“Looks like it’s finally our turn.” Toki said.

“Yeah.” Syo said.

“Good luck.” I said, trying to encourage them with a smile.

“Thanks, Koneko-chan.” Ren-san said.

I feel Ren-san rub my head before watching they all go onstage. Nerves comes back as I wait for them to start. I was hanging off on the edge of my seat throughout the performance. Once it has ended, I hold my breath in anticipation. I can feel my fingernails digging into my skin, but I didn’t know care as I want to know what the judges think about our performance.

“You failed.” A woman’s voice said.

My heart drops when I heard that. It was like the world was crashing down on me. I feel water building up in my eyes. I was so heartbroken that I didn’t here what the judges have to say. I didn’t even hear the boys coming back arguing. The room suddenly feels too small and it was getting hard to breath. I try to get air back into my lung, but I instead start hyperventilating. I couldn’t take it anymore and leave the room running. I hear voices behind me but couldn’t make out the words. I don’t know where I was going, but I know that I want to get away as far as possible. The voices follow me, making me panic even more.

“Teresa!” Toki’s voice called out to me clearly.

I turn around, but that was a mistake. My vision wavers as I feel the ground under me disappear. I feel pain as I roll down the stairs. The last thing that I hear before completely blacking out is Toki calling out my name again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big trigger warning. Blood and panic attack. Don't like, don't read pass "I want Aka".
> 
> Other than that, please continue reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting for like 2 weeks. I been extra lazy and I just started school not too long ago. Anyways, enjoy and see ya next chapter.

The first thing that I notice when I gain conscious is the pain on the back of my head. The next thing is muffled voices surrounding me. While debating whether or not I should open my eyes, I listen to the voices. It takes me a while to recognized who the voices belong to. Knowing I’ll not be going back to sleep, I struggle to open my eyes. It takes a while but manage to open them and I am greeted with the bright, blinding light of the room. I immediately shut my eyes again before trying again. Once I was used to the light, I can make out a white ceiling with white curtains all around me. Infirmary is the only word that pops into my mind as I remember a similar situation on the first day of school.

“…not enough sleep and food.” A female voice said just outside of the curtain. “It is probably cause by stress.”

“Is there anything we can do to help, Sensei?” I hear Syo asked.

“As long as she rests and eats something that is easy on the stomach in the next couple of days, she should be fine.” Sensei said. “I have business that I have to go to. Please watch her.”

“Yes, Sensei. Thank you, Sensei.” Toki’s voice, which catches me off guard, said.

I honestly thought Syo and the doctor were the only ones to be in the infirmary with me, so to hear Toki’s voice surprised me. The sound of the door sliding open and close, telling me that someone walked out. Feeling stiff, I sit up. The rustling must have alerted the people behind the curtain. Someone draws the curtains open a bit and peeks their head in. Bright blue eyes stare into my dark brown ones. A little bit of orange hair sway back and forth in front of them.

“Koneko-chan.” Ren-san said as he fully opens the curtain up.

“Teresa!” Syo shouted as he bounces to my side.

I wince at the volume of his voice and rub my head to stop the pounding from getting worst. Seeing this, Syo gives me a guilty look.

“Sorry.” Syo said in a lower voice. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay?” I said in a form of a question.

Honestly, I feel like my body isn’t my own right now, but I don’t want to make the boys worry more than they already have.

“Do you remember what happen?” Toki asked, cutting right to the chase.

I stare into space, trying to recall what happened before I landed in the infirmary again. But the harder I try to remember, the worse the headache gets. I give up in trying to remember as I shake my head no.

“You fell down the stairs and hit your head hard.” Ren-san explained. “You were lucky that nothing worst happened.”

“We also found out about your bad eating habit and insomnia.” Syo said. “Why didn’t you tell us about this?”

I look down at my hands. My vision goes in and out of focus as I try to form an explanation. I watch my blurry hands moving, my right hand scratching the back of my left. My left hand burns a little, but I did not think about it at the time.

“Sorry.” I mumbled as I couldn’t think of anything other than that.

“I thought we were friends.” Syo said, clearly upset. “You could have told us.”

“What about you, Syo?” I said, the words coming out of my mouth before I even realize it. “You don’t say anything about your heart condition.”

Syo’s eyes widen. His mouth opens and closes, trying to form words but nothing comes out. Toki and Ren-san look at Syo in disbelief. I don’t know if it was because of the fall or I am just tired, but my mouth did not stop sprouting words.

“And what about Toki? He has been going to his ‘part-time job’ almost every night and only come back in the early mornings.”

This time, Toki looks at me like a deer in the headlights. The look on Toki’s face makes me shut up finally. I didn’t want to say any of that. I meant to kept that a secret. I want to leave and run away again, but I know that someone will stop me. I want to cry, but something is preventing me. I want Aka.

I feel myself hyperventilating. The sounds around me starts becoming white noise and my vision becomes worse. I can vaguely hear someone calling me, but I can’t make out who it was. The scent of something metallic hits my nose and something warm spreads across the back of my left hand and the fingertips of my right. I look down and see red spreading on my hands and the blanket under them. It was then that I feel pain on my left hand that I realize that I dig my fingernails and break the skin.

This made me panic even more. Hands that weren’t mine’s wrap around my wrist and pull them apart forcefully. I struggle out of whoever’s grip is on me, but that only made them hold me tighter. Darkness starts to fill my vision because of the panic and lack of air. Just when I was about to pass out again, I hear the one voice that I desperately want. The voice that I desperately _need._

Like magic, I feel myself coming back to reality. My breathing slows down enough where I can feel air entering my lungs. The smell of blood is stronger now than before, but I didn’t care. From my limited sight, I see Toki was the one holding my wrists. I turn to my right and see a long, black and red-haired person kneeling there. The person reaches for my right hand, making Toki let go of it. Despite the blood, the person holds my hand and squeezing it. I relax at their touch.

“Teresa.” they said.

Like a floodgate, tears start coming out of my eyes. I didn’t care at this point. I tug my arms away from Toki’s and their hold and wrap them around the person. I sob into her shoulder as I say their name over and over again.

“Aka!” I cried.

**Author's Note:**

> A rewrite of the utapri anime, but with a second composer. Although it is following my OC's point of view, there will be other people's point of view. And this story is not strictly following the anime as there are some where I will incorporate some of the game elements.


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